<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="567" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1238751604-1-820x567.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422320" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1238751604-1-820x567.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1238751604-1-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1238751604-1-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1238751604-1-768x531.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1238751604-1-1536x1062.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1238751604-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Yorba Linda, CA &#8211; February 24: Chinese ambassador Qin Gang speaks at The Richard Nixon Library &amp; Museum to mark 50 years since Nixon visited China and began diplomatic relations. Photo taken at The Richard Nixon Library &amp; Museum in Yorba Linda Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022. Dr. Henry Kissinger led the commemoration with virtual remarks. Speakers included the Honorable Elaine Chao, who served as the first Chinese-American member of a Presidents Cabinet, 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor and 18th U.S. Secretary of Transportation, former U.S. Ambassador to the PRC Stapleton Roy, and PRC Ambassador to the United States Qin Gang. This is the first visit to the U.S. West Coast by Ambassador Qin Gang. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



ADDIS ABABA, Jan 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa should not be an arena for competition between world powers, China&#8217;s Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Wednesday, opening a new headquarters for a pan-African health body at the start of five-country Africa tour.



Qin visited facilities of the African Union in Addis Ababa, including the new headquarters of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. China financed the complex&#8217;s construction, as it previously did for the headquarters of the AU itself, also based in the Ethiopian capital.



China has been Africa&#8217;s largest trading partner for over a decade. It competes for influence with the United States &#8211; which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3331VZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hosted</a>&nbsp;leaders from 49 African countries last month &#8211; as well as with former colonial powers such as Britain and France.



&#8220;Africa should be a big stage for the international cooperation, not an arena for major countries competition,&#8221; Qin said at a news conference with AU Commission chair Moussa Faki.



A trusted aide of President Xi Jinping and former ambassador to the United States, Qin was appointed foreign minister last month. His visit marks the 33rd consecutive year that Africa has been the destination of the Chinese foreign minister&#8217;s first overseas tour of the calendar year.



Qin met on Tuesday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other government officials, and announced a partial cancellation of Ethiopia&#8217;s debt to China during the visit, though neither side provided details. Ethiopia has borrowed $13.7 billion from China since 2000 and has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N31G0C2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seeking to restructure</a>&nbsp;its debt to foreign lenders since 2021.



Qin will also visit Egypt, Angola, Benin and Gabon over the next week. Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said the choice of countries reflected China&#8217;s diversity of interests in Africa.



China has strong security ties to Egypt and Angola. Visiting Benin and Gabon shows ambitions to expand Beijing&#8217;s Belt and Roads infrastructure-building drive &#8211; long focused mainly on the Indian Ocean region &#8211; into western Africa, he told Voice of America radio.



(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Aaron RossEditing by Peter Graff)

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Africa should not be arena for international competition, says Chinese foreign minister

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107176166-1673369762103-james-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422311" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107176166-1673369762103-james-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107176166-1673369762103-james-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107176166-1673369762103-james-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107176166-1673369762103-james-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107176166-1673369762103-james-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107176166-1673369762103-james.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday emphasized the need for the central bank to be free of political influence while it tackles persistently high inflation.



In a speech delivered to Sweden’s Riksbank, Powell noted that stabilizing prices requires making tough decisions that can be unpopular politically.



“Price stability is the bedrock of a healthy economy and provides the public with immeasurable benefits over time. But restoring price stability when inflation is high can require measures that are not popular in the short term as we raise interest rates to slow the economy,” the chairman said in prepared remarks.



“The absence of direct political control over our decisions allows us to take these necessary measures without considering short-term political factors,” he added.



Powell’s remarks came at a forum to discuss central bank independence and were to be followed by a question-and-answer session.



The speech did not contain any direct clues about where policy is headed for a Fed that raised interest rates seven times in 2022, for a total of 4.25 percentage points, and has indicated that more increases likely are on the way this year.



While criticism of Fed actions by elected leaders is often done in quieter tones, the Powell Fed has faced vocal opposition from both sides of the political aisle.



Former President Donald Trump ripped the central bank when it was raising rates during his administration, while progressive leaders such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have criticized the current round of hikes. President Joe Biden has largely resisted commenting on Fed moves while noting that it is primarily the central bank’s responsibility to tackle inflation.



Powell has repeatedly said that political factors have not weighed on his actions.



In another part of Tuesday’s speech, he addressed calls from some lawmakers for the Fed to use its regulatory powers to address climate change. Powell noted that the Fed should “stick to our knitting and not wander off to pursue perceived social benefits that are not tightly linked to our statutory goals and authorities.”



While the Fed has asked big banks to examine their financial readiness in case of major climate-related events such as hurricanes and floods, Powell said that’s as far as it should go.



“Decisions about policies to directly address climate change should be made by the elected branches of government and thus reflect the public’s will as expressed through elections,” he said. “But without explicit congressional legislation, it would be inappropriate for us to use our monetary policy or supervisory tools to promote a greener economy or to achieve other climate-based goals. We are not, and will not be, a ‘climate policymaker.’”



The Fed this year will launch a pilot program that calls for the nation’s six biggest banks to take part in a “scenario analysis” aimed at testing institutions’ stability in the event of major climate events.



The exercise will take place apart from the so-called stress tests that the Fed uses to test how banks would fare under hypothetical economic downturns. Participating institutions are Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

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Powell says Fed might have to make unpopular decisions to stabilize prices

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107083077-1656593419933-gettyimages-1395062617-t_w16437_4934a878-972d-4bea-b6ef-b61f4ceeb787-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-422307" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107083077-1656593419933-gettyimages-1395062617-t_w16437_4934a878-972d-4bea-b6ef-b61f4ceeb787-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107083077-1656593419933-gettyimages-1395062617-t_w16437_4934a878-972d-4bea-b6ef-b61f4ceeb787-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107083077-1656593419933-gettyimages-1395062617-t_w16437_4934a878-972d-4bea-b6ef-b61f4ceeb787-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107083077-1656593419933-gettyimages-1395062617-t_w16437_4934a878-972d-4bea-b6ef-b61f4ceeb787-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107083077-1656593419933-gettyimages-1395062617-t_w16437_4934a878-972d-4bea-b6ef-b61f4ceeb787.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Theo Wargo | Wireimage | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Elon Musk can add a new title to his resume: Guinness World Record holder.



The “Technoking” of Tesla made it into the record books thanks to an abysmal 2022 which saw his fortune shrink by $182 billion, the organization announced Friday in a release that cited data from Forbes.



Guinness noted that although “the exact figure [of Musk’s loss] is almost impossible to ascertain,” with some outlets estimating that he lost more than $200 billion, the Twitter owner demolished the previous record: a $58.6 billion loss by Japanese investor Masayoshi Son in 2000.



Musk’s shrinking fortune was largely due to the steep slide of Tesla shares, which lost roughly 65% of their value during the company’s worst year on record.



The loss was enough to knock him off his perch as the richest man in the world — a title now held by luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault.



Of course, Musk isn’t the only billionaire whose fortune took a hit in 2022. American billionaires collectively lost $660 billion last year, CNBC Make It previously reported.



The 53-year-old’s wealth decline spared Amazon founder Jeff Bezos from taking the Guinness World Record. Bezos’s $80 billion loss in 2022 would have firmly given him the “largest loss” title were it not for Musk.



Fellow tech CEO Mark Zuckerberg also broke Masayoshi Son’s record with his $78 billion loss.



Musk’s fortune once sat as high as $320 billion in late 2021. As of Jan. 10, Forbes estimates that his net worth sits at $142.1 billion, making him the No. 2 richest person in the world ahead of India’s Gautam Adani ($125.1 billion).

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Elon Musk’s $182 billion net worth drop breaks Guinness World Record

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tiktok-Tik-Tok-Social-Media-Smartphone-App-Iphone-5323005-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422294" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tiktok-Tik-Tok-Social-Media-Smartphone-App-Iphone-5323005-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tiktok-Tik-Tok-Social-Media-Smartphone-App-Iphone-5323005-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tiktok-Tik-Tok-Social-Media-Smartphone-App-Iphone-5323005-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tiktok-Tik-Tok-Social-Media-Smartphone-App-Iphone-5323005-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Tiktok-Tik-Tok-Social-Media-Smartphone-App-Iphone-5323005.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Tiktok Social Media Smartphone App Iphone Photo: via Max Pixel</figcaption></figure>



On TikTok, Emily Durham is a content creator with over 200,000 followers. She also works as a senior recruiter for Intuit. Durham’s following on the social platform and her success show how influencers and content creators on TikTok can strengthen a company’s recruiting efforts.



“Having a social presence has been a game changer for me from a professional perspective,” Durham said. “Probably half of the candidates that I reach out to have responded with, ‘Oh my god, I follow you on TikTok,’ especially with early career talent or when I’m recruiting for other HR roles at Intuit.”



Durham said while she doesn’t post Intuit-specific content, the company’s trust and open-mindedness about her TikTok presence allows her content to be mutually beneficial for her and Intuit. Her TikTok presence gives potential candidates familiarity and recognition that often leads them to apply and be interested in roles at Intuit.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiktok-influencers-help-recruit-desired-candidates"><a></a>TikTok influencers help recruit desired candidates</h2>



When you think about how people previously searched for jobs, it’s most likely they turned first to their local newspaper for open roles. When the internet came onto the scene, people began&nbsp;searching on sites like Indeed, Monster, ZipRecruiter, and eventually LinkedIn.



Now, especially with younger audiences, companies can use TikTok to advertise open roles and reach candidates, like Gen Z and millennials, said Erin Lazarus, director of solution architects at SHL, a data and insights platform for talent acquisition and management. An influencer promoting open roles can help increase the impact of a company’s recruiting effort.



“Gen Z and millennial audiences, from a value perspective, appreciate authenticity. What we used to think of social content, which was previously over-edited, commercial-like content, doesn’t resonate with those audiences,” Durham said. “In fact, you have about two to four seconds before a millennial or Gen Z social media consumer will scroll past your video.”



Durham said companies can hire influencers, who are real and authentic, to post content about what it’s like to work at a company and why someone should work there.



“Influencers have trust and credibility with their audiences, and they’ve become what I think of as the signal through the noise,” Lazarus said. “In the digital world, opportunities are nearly endless, and that level of choice creates so much noise around us.”



Lazarus said influencers help employers increase the signal of their opportunities and cut through the noise to reach a more targeted audience, and TikTok is one of the mediums to reach audiences the fastest.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finding-the-right-type-of-tiktok-influencer"><a></a>Finding the right type of TikTok influencer</h2>



Lazarus said companies interested in using TikTok influencers to promote jobs, must first distinguish between the different types of influencers and which ones have the right following to reach ideal candidates.



“The first category is celebrities, and there are fewer celebrities promoting jobs than other types of influencers. Another type of influencer is content creators or bloggers, like who we follow on TikTok and Instagram,” Lazarus said. “A third category, where most influencers are likely living for recruitment efforts, is industry leaders and thought leaders.”



These categories are not siloed, and influencers can exist across these distinctions. Influencers can have large or small followings, they can be community leaders, and they can specialize in a specific topic or niche area. With Durham’s specialty in career coaching and job searching advice, she can be described as a thought leader in that area on TikTok.



“Thought and industry leaders could be local from a geographical perspective or from an industry perspective,” Lazarus said. “These are also influencers that can operate both online and in person in a professional setting to help with recruitment efforts.”



It’s also important to ensure that your company’s TikTok influencers have a following relatively located to the locations you’re hiring for, said Daniel Blaser, a senior content manager at Workstream, a recruiting and hiring platform for local businesses and restaurants to fill hourly and deskless roles.



Blaser said companies, especially local businesses, don’t necessarily need to tap into influencers with millions of followers to recruit for open jobs. Companies can engage with influencers, of any scale, that can reach their targeted group of potential employees.



“Anyone can be an influencer if they have an engaged following, and there are people that have an engaged following for whoever you want to connect to, as a business, and in your hiring efforts,” Blaser said.



Blaser added that companies can even have their existing employees post videos or content on TikTok and become an influencer for their business. The focus should be on how well the content resonates with audiences.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>How to start leveraging TikTok influencers</h2>



Influencers can be hired, if a company is looking to reach an existing following from a content creator like Durham, or influencers can be created, like Blaser suggested, from existing employees who may find a new following.



Lazarus said influencers on TikTok, and all social platforms, can advertise your company’s recruiting efforts in their short videos, in sound bites on podcasts, or in advertisements in newsletters, wherever the influencer’s following reaches.



“A company should ask: Who is my target audience? What kind of candidates am I looking for? How do I reach them? What media are they consuming?” Lazarus said. That helps you figure out: Who are the trendsetters in the areas I’m recruiting for? How do I get in touch with them?



Lazarus said this is a growing and exciting trend in recruitment and talent acquisition. Social media recruiters play a strategic role in the talent strategy of an organization, she added, and it can help ensure they’re bringing in the best talent and lead them to get creative in approaching talent.



“There are so many different ways you can get creative, as long as you’re highlighting the voices of the authentic people at your organization,” Durham said. “That’s where you’re going to see impact and benefit. You’re going to see absolutely nothing if you’re an organization first and a people-company second.”



Lazarus said TikTok influencers can also help companies increase diversity and reach underrepresented populations, because this type of recruitment reaches candidates through their trusted sources that they’re already consuming.



“We have an opportunity as organizations to really compete for the best talent out there to increase diversity, create more inclusion, and bring ourselves to where those pipelines are,” Lazarus said. “These platforms help us create a diverse, enriched pipeline of candidates from every walk of life.”

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How TikTok influencers are helping companies recruit new workers

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="405" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107175695-1673251446173-GettyImages-1246102412.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422260" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107175695-1673251446173-GettyImages-1246102412.jpg 720w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107175695-1673251446173-GettyImages-1246102412-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107175695-1673251446173-GettyImages-1246102412-160x90.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">BRASILIA, Brazil &#8211; Jan. 08, 2023: Damage caused at the Supreme Court by supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Carl De Souza/AFP via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Brazilian stocks are expected to fall on Monday after supporters of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings on Sunday in protest against his election loss.



The iShares MSCI Brazil UCITS ETF was down over 1% on Monday, pointing to declines when markets open in South America’s largest economy later in the day.



Brazil’s currency weakened around 0.7% against the U.S. dollar in early spot trading. The Brazilian real was last seen trading at 5.26 per dollar.



Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasilia on Sunday. The demonstrators refused to accept his legitimate October election defeat to leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.



The riots came a week after Lula’s inauguration as president and saw Bolsonaro’s followers bypass security barricades and vandalize all three buildings, resulting in more than 400 arrests after hours of clashes with security forces.



“The coup plotters who promoted the destruction of public property in Brasilia are being identified and will be punished,” Lula said in a tweet Sunday night, vowing to resume work in the palace on Monday.



The new president was forced to declare emergency powers and to close off the center of the capital for 24 hours until order is restored.



In a press conference, Lula said the government was hunting the riot’s financiers. He accused security forces of “incompetence, bad faith or malice” in allowing the rioters, some of whom were calling for a military intervention to oust Lula or restore Bolsonaro to power, to access government buildings.



He also accused the former president of encouraging “fascist fanatics,” an allegation Bolsonaro denied in a series of tweets on Sunday.



“Peaceful demonstrations, in accordance with the law, are part of democracy. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings like those that happened today, as well as those that were practised by the Left in 2013 and 2017, evade the rule,” Bolsonaro said, according to a translation.



The events have been likened to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of defeated former president Donald Trump.



In a tweet Sunday night, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned what he called “the assault on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil.”



Biden added, “Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined.”



U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday also condemned “any attempt to undermine the peaceful transfer of power and the democratic will of the people of Brazil.”



Sunak said Lula’s government has the U.K.‘s “full support” and that he looked forward to building on the two countries’ ties in the years ahead.



The Brazilian president received words of support from Moscow, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Russia condemned the instigators “in the strongest terms,” according to Reuters.

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Brazil stocks set to slide as world leaders condemn pro-Bolsonaro riots

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-422234" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Subway passenger traffic in Shanghai is quickly returning to levels seen before the latest Covid wave, according to Wind data. Pictured here is a subway car in the city on Jan. 4, 2023. Hugo Hu | Getty Images News | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — China will likely be able to live with Covid-19 by the end of March, based on how quickly people have returned to the streets, said Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie.



Subway and road data show traffic in major cities is rebounding, he pointed out, indicating the worst of the latest Covid wave has passed.



“The dramatic U-turn in China’s Covid policy since mid-Nov implies deeper short-term economic contraction but faster reopening and recovery,” Hu said in a report Wednesday. “The economy could see a strong recovery in Spring.”



In the last several days, the southern city of Guangzhou and the tourist destination of Sanya said they’d passed the peak of the Covid wave.



Chongqing municipal health authorities said Tuesday that daily visitors to major fever clinics was just over 3,000 — down sharply from Dec. 16 when the number of patients received topped 30,000. The province-level region has a population of about 32 million.



Chongqing was the most congested city in mainland China during Thursday morning’s rush hour, according to Baidu traffic data. The figures showed increased traffic from a week ago across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other major cities.



As of Wednesday, subway ridership in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou had climbed significantly from the lows of the last few weeks — but had only recovered to about two-thirds of last year’s levels, according to Wind Information.



Caixin’s monthly survey of services businesses in December found they were the most optimistic they’d been in about a year-and-a-half, according to a release Thursday. The seasonally adjusted business activity index rose to 48 in December, up from a six-month low of 46.7 in November.



That below-50 reading still indicates a contraction in business activity. The index for a separate Caixin survey of manufacturers edged down to 49 in December, from 49.4 in November. Their optimism was the highest in ten months.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-poorer-rural-areas-next"><a></a>Poorer, rural areas next</h2>



Shanghai medical researchers projected in a study that the latest Covid wave would pass through major Chinese cities by the end of 2022, while rural areas — and more distant provinces in central and western China — would be hit by infections in mid- to late-January.



“The duration and magnitude of upcoming outbreak could be dramatically enhanced by the extensive travels during the Spring Festival (January 21, 2023),” the researchers said in a paper published in late December by Frontiers of Medicine, a journal sponsored by China’s Ministry of Education.



Typically hundreds of millions of people travel during the holiday, also known as the Lunar New Year.



The researchers said senior citizens, especially those with underlying health conditions, in China’s remote areas face a greater risk of severe illness from the highly transmissible omicron variant. The authors were particularly worried about the lack of medicine and intensive care units in the the countryside.



Even before the pandemic, China’s public health system was stretched. People from across the country often traveled to crowded hospitals in the capital city of Beijing in order to get better health care than they could in their hometowns.



Oxford Economics senior economist Louise Loo remained cautious about a rapid rebound in China’s economy.



“A normalisation in economic activity will take some time, requiring among other things a change in public perceptions towards contracting Covid and vaccine effectiveness,” Loo said in a report Wednesday.



The firm expects China’s GDP will grow by 4.2% in 2023.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lingering-long-term-risk"><a></a>Lingering long-term risk</h2>



The medical researchers also warned of the risk that omicron outbreaks on the mainland “might appear in multiple waves,” with new surges in infections possible in late 2023. “The importance of regular monitoring of circulating SARS-CoV-2 sublineages and variants across China shall not be overestimated in the months and years to come.”



However, amid a lack of timely information, the World Health Organization said Wednesday it was asking China for “more rapid, regular, reliable data on hospitalizations and deaths, as well as more comprehensive, real-time viral sequencing.”



China in early December abruptly ended many of its stringent Covid controls that had restricted business and social activity. On Sunday, the country is set to formally end a quarantine requirement for inbound travelers, while restoring the ability of Chinese citizens to travel abroad for leisure. The country imposed strict border controls beginning in March 2020 in an attempt to contain Covid domestically.

107174188-1672880579198-gettyimages-1454156327-579a4242_53b118fb-f2b0-4a05-af97-ab44639f6d81

China’s big cities are starting to look past Covid, while rural areas brace for infections

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4X4BO4SJKNP2HE3TGFBH4Z22YA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422230" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4X4BO4SJKNP2HE3TGFBH4Z22YA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4X4BO4SJKNP2HE3TGFBH4Z22YA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4X4BO4SJKNP2HE3TGFBH4Z22YA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4X4BO4SJKNP2HE3TGFBH4Z22YA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4X4BO4SJKNP2HE3TGFBH4Z22YA-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/4X4BO4SJKNP2HE3TGFBH4Z22YA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, 3 January 2023. Atef Safadi/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GAZA/JERUSALEM/DUBAI, Jan 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Israel&#8217;s sharp tilt to what is likely to be the most hard right government in its history puts its new Arab allies in the awkward position of having to deal with ultra-nationalists while trying to do more than just pay lip service to the Palestinian cause.



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s cabinet, sworn in last week, includes hardcore rightist parties who want to annex occupied West Bank land where Palestinians have long sought to establish an independent state.



That poses a dilemma for four Arab states &#8211; the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan &#8211; that moved toward normal ties with Israel two years ago and now have to balance this new partnership with historic support for Palestinian aspirations.



When the UAE, the Gulf business and investment hub and a rising regional power, became the first Gulf Arab country to strike a deal with Israel in 2020 to establish ties, it hoped that long-standing, combustible issues such as Israeli settlements in occupied territory could be resolved.



While Netanyahu has said he will have final say on policy, his government&#8217;s commitment to expand West Bank settlements and the inclusion of ultra-nationalists in his cabinet militates against any compromise with Palestinians.



Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is a pistol-packing, ex-member of an outlawed Jewish militant group. He came up through the Kahane Chai organisation, which is blacklisted in Israel and the United States for its virulently anti-Arab doctrines.



On Tuesday he infuriated Palestinians and drew a barrage of condemnation by visiting the Al Aqsa mosque compound, a flashpoint site revered by Muslims and Jews that is located in east Jerusalem, captured in 1967 and later annexed by Israel.



Another of Netanyahu&#8217;s coalition partners is Bezalel Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party who like Ben-Gvir is a West Bank settler&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N33K09K&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">averse</a>&nbsp;to Palestinians&#8217; self-rule, let alone their hopes of statehood.



&#8220;Both the UAE and Bahrain would have certainly not preferred this government as this will certainly test their relations with Israel,&#8221; said Aziz Alghashian, a Saudi analyst specialising in Gulf-Israel relations. &#8220;If there is conflict&#8230;, both the UAE and Bahrain would experience pressure to do something.&#8221;



However, Alghashian said both Gulf countries had invested political capital in the agreements with Israel, known as the Abraham Accords after the ancient patriarch revered by Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, and are unlikely to break ties if open conflict between Israel and the Palestinians erupts again.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discreet-contacts">DISCREET CONTACTS</h2>



For the UAE, the diplomatic breakthrough with Israel capped years of discreet contacts in important commerce and technology and may help the Gulf monarchy craft an image as a force for stability in a turbulent Middle East.



The UAE did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on this article.



The two countries ratified a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in December, after Netanyahu&#8217;s election victory. It is expected to be the widest-ranging deal of its kind between Israel and an Arab state.



Ties have also been bolstered by shared fears that Iran poses an existential security threat to much of the Middle East, and early signs suggest both countries want to keep the relationship strong.



UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan called Netanyahu to congratulate him on his inauguration and voice his hope &#8220;to push forward the path of partnership and peace between the two countries&#8221;, the UAE state news agency said.



For its part, the Bahraini ambassador to Israel, Khaled Al Jalahma, reaffirmed its commitment to normalisation. Bahrain&#8217;s king had &#8220;wisely ordained that we aspire to co-existence and prosperous peace. The historic Abraham Accords restored hope and underscored the importance of dialogue,&#8221; the ambassador tweeted on Dec. 19.



Ben-Gvir, in a videotaped interview given at a hotel reception put on by the UAE embassy in Israel on Dec. 1 – after he signed a coalition pact with Netanyahu but before the government was installed &#8211; indicated that he was interested in developing even closer relations.



&#8220;This is the proof that one can make peace without concessions, without capitulation &#8211; but rather, peace, peace, between people who have affection for one another,&#8221; he said in comments published by the conservative Israel Hayom newspaper.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BETRAYAL</h2>



Palestinian officials have said they feel betrayed by fellow Arabs for forging relations with Israel without first demanding progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state.



In Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization&#8217;s Executive Committee, called on Arab states to review relations with Israel.



“Arab countries who formed normalisation ties with the state of occupation are required more than ever to revise these agreements,” he told Reuters by phone.



“What is required today is to impose a comprehensive siege and isolation against the occupation state and the government of fascist policies and to expose its crimes before the world.&#8221;



That may be wishful thinking.



There appears to be no sign of danger to the Abraham Accords, even though they may not be so popular on the Arab street. But Palestinian options are limited.



Netanyahu has pledged to build on the achievement during his previous term of the Abraham Accords that opened the way for a possible normalisation of relations with other Arab countries.



He wants to cultivate relations even with Saudi Arabia, the most conservative and cautious Middle East heavyweight.



&#8220;Peace with Saudi Arabia will serve two purposes,&#8221; he told the private Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya last month. &#8220;It will change our region in ways that are unimaginable. And I think it will facilitate, ultimately, a Palestinian-Israeli peace.&#8221;



Saudi Arabia is opening up somewhat under its de facto leader Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but has been cool to normalisation with Israel in the absence of progress in the Palestinians&#8217; statehood quest.



“Normalisation with Israel will not help us at all, on the contrary it will increase the brutality against us, it will cause a war, we will face problems and massacres,&#8221; said Rawan Abu Zeid, 18, a resident of Palestinian Islamist-ruled Gaza.



ANALYSIS-Will Netanyahu clip the wings of his new cabinet hawks?<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N33K09K&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; writing by Michael Georgy; editing by Dominic Evans and Mark Heinrich)

FILE PHOTO: Israeli cabinet meeting in Jerusalem

New Arab allies face quandary as Israel shifts hard-right

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422226" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Traders on the floor of the NYSE, June 24, 2022. Source: NYSE</figcaption></figure>



Traders who shorted stocks won big in 2022, according to S3 Partners.



Shorted stocks had a return of 30.8% in 2022, said Ihor Dusaniwsky, the firm’s managing director of predictive analytics. That means short sellers outperformed the broader market, which suffered its biggest losses since 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost 8.8%, 19.4% and 33.1%, respectively, last year.



U.S. short sellers tallied $300 billion in mark-to-market profits on average short interest of $973 billion, Dusaniwsky wrote.



But even with the huge win in 2022, short sellers still lag in recent history. In the past five years, an average annual return for short sellers was a loss of 4.4% while the Dow gained 6.8%, the S&amp;P 500 rose 9.3% and the Nasdaq climbed 12.5%.



When an investor sells a stock “short” they borrow shares from a broker and sell them in hopes of buying the stock back later at a lower price. It’s a tactic that does best when the broader market is hurting. Short seller returns came in below the major indexes when the market gained value in 2019 through 2021, but beat the averages when they ended the year down in 2018.



It’s worth noting that the total amount shorted last year was below 2021, when the $1 trillion threshold was broken, but higher than in 2018 through 2020.



Short sellers still needed to be good stock pickers in 2022 as different sectors and individual holdings could produce vastly different results, Dusaniwsky said.



For instance, the best sector to short last year was beat down communication services stocks, which produced a return on shorted holdings of 56.7%. Energy was the worst, and posted a 28% loss on shorted holdings, S3 Partners said.



Short- and long-term performance are typically inversed. That’s because investors usually move short on holdings that they expect to lose value, so energy — which was the only winning S&amp;P 500 sector in 2022 — would not be a target for shorting as investors watched share values rise despite the broader market’s decline.



And choosing sector orientation is “only half the battle” given the variety of stocks within each one. Within consumer staples, for example, Beyond Meat had the biggest return on short selling at 128.2%. French fry producer Lamb Weston was the least profitable in its sector, and lost 43.9%.



Carvana, which was beat down as used car demand slid, had the best short performance of all stocks with at least $100 million in short interest, recording a 377.6% gain.



On the flip side, Madrigal Pharma was the worst to short. Bets against the company lost 345.4%. The stock rallied in December on the back of well-received drug trial data.

107081057-Traders-TF-Photo-20220624-ACJ-009-PRESS-2

Traders who bet against stocks made a killing in 2022, as short sellers netted $300 billion

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="549" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HRX6GNXNNRPFJHLDBUHRBWYJHU-820x549.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422062" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HRX6GNXNNRPFJHLDBUHRBWYJHU-820x549.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HRX6GNXNNRPFJHLDBUHRBWYJHU-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HRX6GNXNNRPFJHLDBUHRBWYJHU-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HRX6GNXNNRPFJHLDBUHRBWYJHU-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HRX6GNXNNRPFJHLDBUHRBWYJHU-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HRX6GNXNNRPFJHLDBUHRBWYJHU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: Migrants arrive at Dover harbour on board a Border Force vessel, after being rescued while attempting to cross the English Channel, in Dover, Britain, August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Judges at London&#8217;s High Court will rule on Monday whether the British government&#8217;s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is legal, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stakes his future on stopping a record number of migrant arrivals in small boats.



Under a deal struck in April, Britain aims to send tens of thousands of migrants who arrive on its shores illegally more than 4,000 miles (6,4000 km) to Rwanda.



The first planned deportation flight was blocked in June by a last-minute injunction from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the strategy&#8217;s lawfulness was subsequently challenged by a judicial review at London&#8217;s High Court.



Judges Jonathan Swift and Clive Lewis are expected to deliver their verdict at 1030 GMT.



A victory for the government on Monday will not mean that flights can take off straight away because there may be a further appeal in the British courts and the ECHR injunction imposed during the summer prevents any immediate deportations until the conclusion of legal action in the United Kingdom.



In one of his first major policy announcements, Sunak set out a strategy to clamp down on illegal immigration and said he wanted to restart the flights to Rwanda despite opposition from lawmakers in all the main political parties, the United Nations and even King Charles.



The prime minister is under growing pressure from his own members of parliament and the public to deal with the arrivals, with figures showing more than 40,000 &#8211; a record number &#8211; have arrived from France this year, many having made the journey from Afghanistan or Iran or other countries suffering war to travel across Europe and on to Britain to seek asylum.



Immigration has risen up voters&#8217; priorities to become the third most important issue facing the country after the economy and health, polls show.



The deaths of four migrants in the Channel this week when their dinghy began sinking was the latest in a series of tragedies in the water between Britain and France that have underscored the government&#8217;s inability to stop the crossings.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inhumane-not-working">INHUMANE, NOT WORKING</h2>



Lawyers acting for asylum seekers from countries including Syria, Sudan, and Iraq, as well as charities and Border Force staff told the High Court in hearings this year that the government&#8217;s Rwanda policy was inhumane and does not comply with human rights conventions.



They said that Rwanda, whose own human rights record is under scrutiny, does not have the capacity to process the claims, and there is a risk some migrants could be returned to countries from which they had fled, citing concern raised by government officials themselves.



Britain says the Rwanda deportation strategy will help deter migrants from making the perilous trip across the Channel, and will smash the business model of people-smuggling networks.



Supporters of the Rwanda deal say that sending migrants to the country will reduce overcrowding in processing centers and give genuine refugees a home.



However, since the policy was announced tens of thousands people have continued to arrive in Britain and until recently Rwanda had only set up one hostel to accept UK arrivals, with capacity for about 100 people, representing 0.35% of all the migrants who arrived in Britain on the small boats last year.



The strategy is based loosely on Australia&#8217;s programme of sending migrants to Papua New Guinea and Nauru for processing.



Under the agreement with Rwanda, anyone judged to have entered Britain illegally is eligible for deportation, with the exception of unaccompanied minors.



Deportees granted protection by Rwanda&#8217;s government would be eligible to live there but would not be permitted to return to Britain.



(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

FILE PHOTO: Migrants arrive at Dover harbour after being rescued while attempting to cross the English Channel

UK court to rule if deportation flights to Rwanda can restart

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245609590-2-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-422035" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245609590-2-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245609590-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245609590-2-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245609590-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245609590-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-1245609590-2-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>US President Joe Biden speaks at the US-Africa Summit business forum in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. Biden will get a chance to fix perceptions in Africa that the US has neglected the continent when he hosts the first summit of its kind in eight years, one that will see him personally interact with leaders from the continent on trade, climate, and governance. Photographer: Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, Dec 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced an agreement aimed at bolstering trade ties between the United States and Africa after years in which the continent took a back seat to other U.S. priorities as China made inroads with investments and trade.



&#8220;The United States is &#8216;all in&#8217; on Africa&#8217;s future,&#8221; Biden told African leaders from 49 countries and the African Union at a three-day summit in Washington that began on Tuesday.



Biden&#8217;s remarks, and the summit, aim to position the United States as a partner to African countries amid competition with China, which has sought to expand its influence by funding infrastructure projects on the continent and elsewhere.



Chinese trade with Africa is about four times that of the United States, and Beijing has become an important creditor by offering cheaper loans &#8211; often with opaque terms and collateral requirements &#8211; than Western lenders.



Biden said a new agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Area will give American companies access to 1.3 billion people and a market valued at $3.4 trillion. He listed companies that had made deals at the summit, including General Electric Co&nbsp;GE.N&nbsp;and Cisco Systems Inc&nbsp;CSCO.O.



&#8220;When Africa succeeds, the United States succeeds. Quite frankly, the whole world succeeds as well,&#8221; the president said.



During a White House dinner honoring African leaders and their spouses, Biden addressed what he called America&#8217;s &#8220;original sin&#8221; &#8211; the enslavement of millions of people &#8211; and honored their descendants and the broader African diaspora community in the United States.



“Our people lie at the heart of the deep and profound connection that forever binds Africa and the United States together,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We remember the stolen men and women and children were brought to our shores in chains, subjected to unimaginable cruelty.&#8221;



Singer Gladys Knight later serenaded Biden and the visiting leaders with a performance in the White House State Dining Room.



The summit is the first of its kind since one in 2014 under President Barack Obama, himself the son of an African father. To kick it off, the Biden administration has pledged&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AKBN2SX1LD&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$55 billion</a>&nbsp;for food security, climate change, trade partnerships and other issues. Biden is also expected to back the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32Z1IZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">African Union&#8217;s</a>&nbsp;admission as a permanent member of the Group of 20 major economies during Thursday&#8217;s summit events.



After his remarks at the summit, Biden viewed some of the World Cup semifinal match between Morocco &#8211; the first African nation to reach the semifinals &#8211; and France with Morocco&#8217;s prime minister, Aziz Akhannouch, and other leaders attending the summit, the White House said. France won the match.



Before the dinner, Biden met leaders from Gabon, Liberia and others facing 2023 elections, for a discussion on elections and democratic principles.



The summit is part of a renewed push to boost ties as China gains influence with trade, investment and lending drives. Beijing has held its own high-level meetings with African leaders every three years for over two decades.



Some U.S. officials have been reluctant to frame the gathering as a battle for influence. Biden did not mention China in his remarks, and Washington has toned down criticism of Beijing&#8217;s lending practices and infrastructure projects.



U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told African counterparts on Tuesday she wants to improve the continent&#8217;s U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3331Y2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">trade preferences</a>&nbsp;program to boost investment.



On Wednesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby highlighted the importance of U.S. investments in Africa and said Washington was looking for a &#8220;two-way discussion&#8221; about trade, investment and opportunities for economic growth.



African leaders welcomed that approach.



&#8220;Instead of exporting commodities, the U.S. should find an opportunity in investing,&#8221; Kenyan President William Ruto said. &#8220;They have the machinery, they have the know-how, so that they can produce for the African continent in Africa.&#8221;



Ruto cited projections that Africa&#8217;s agribusiness sector will more than triple to $1 trillion by 2030 and said U.S. capital can help solve the continent&#8217;s physical infrastructure deficit to unlock this growth.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-china-africa-trade">CHINA-AFRICA TRADE</h2>



According to a Eurasia Group analysis, in 2021 China-Africa trade, at $254 billion, greatly outstripped U.S.-Africa trade, which stood at $64.3 billion. Those figures are up from $12 billion and $21 billion, respectively, in 2002.



Western leaders have sharply criticized what they see as Beijing&#8217;s foot-dragging in addressing the heavy debt burden facing many African countries.



Beijing&#8217;s ambassador to Washington rejected the idea ahead of the summit, citing a report that African countries owe three times more debt to Western institutions, while noting that Chinese-built&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3321T3&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hospitals, highways, airports and stadiums</a>&nbsp;are &#8220;everywhere&#8221; in Africa.



China remains the region&#8217;s largest bilateral investor, but its new loan commitments to Africa have declined in recent years.



It&#8217;s not all about economic sway &#8211; Washington has been alarmed by China&#8217;s efforts to establish a military foothold in Africa, including on the Atlantic coast in Equatorial Guinea.



For their part, many African leaders reject the idea that they need to choose between the United States and China.



&#8220;The fact that both countries have different levels of relations with African countries makes them equally important for Africa&#8217;s development,&#8221; Ethiopia&#8217;s U.N. ambassador, Taye Atske Selassie Amde, told Reuters. &#8220;However, it should be known each African country has the agency to determine their respective relationship and best interest.&#8221;



Sub-Sarahan Africa&#8217;s largest lenders<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3YoURUL" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://tmsnrt.rs/3YoURUL</a>



Chinese loan commitments to African countries<a href="https://tmsnrt.rs/3cIjPLS" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://tmsnrt.rs/3cIjPLS</a>



(Additional reporting by David Lawder, Steve Holland and Jeff Mason in Washington and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Don Durfee, Leslie Adler, Heather Timmons, Jonathan Oatis and William Mallard)

GettyImages-1245609590-2

Biden says U.S. is ‘all in’ on Africa’s future

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="474" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/QJ5HOFIE6ZIGVEGM6H5RGAY5Z4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421961" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/QJ5HOFIE6ZIGVEGM6H5RGAY5Z4.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/QJ5HOFIE6ZIGVEGM6H5RGAY5Z4-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/QJ5HOFIE6ZIGVEGM6H5RGAY5Z4-138x90.jpg 138w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>U.S. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The United States will commit $55 billion to Africa over the next three years as President Joe Biden prepares to host the U.S.-Africa summit this week and discuss 2023 elections and democracy in the continent with a small group of leaders.



White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States is bringing &#8220;resources to the table&#8221; during the summit, adding that the U.S. commitment to invest in the African continent compares favorably to other countries.



Sullivan also said Biden will host&nbsp;a dinner on Wednesday night for about 50 African leaders and announce U.S. support for the African Union to join the Group of 20 (G20) major economies.&nbsp;He will also push for a permanent member from the African continent on the United Nations Security Council.



Biden has made trips to visit U.S. allies in Asia, Europe and the Middle East since taking office but has yet to visit Africa since becoming president, and the event will be his most comprehensive look at the complexities of the continent.



Part of Biden&#8217;s diplomatic efforts so far have focused on promoting Western democracies as a counterweight to China, but U.S. officials have insisted the Africa summit was not all about discussing Beijing&#8217;s influence in Africa.



Biden will also appoint a special representative for implementing ideas discussed at the summit,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the U.S. State Department plans to appoint&nbsp;Ambassador Johnnie Carson&nbsp;for this role, Sullivan said.&nbsp;Over 300 U.S. and African companies will meet with heads of different delegations to discuss investments in critical sectors, he said.



Sullivan also added the United States will not be &#8220;imposing conditionality&#8221; at the Africa summit to support the Ukraine war.



Separately, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said her agency is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AW1N2XU04J&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preparing</a>&nbsp;to sign a memorandum of understanding with African Continental Free Trade Area countries to explore work on the next phases of the U.S.-African trade relationship.



(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Nandita Bose and Steve Holland; Editing by Leslie Adler, Marguerita Choy and Deepa Babington)

QJ5HOFIE6ZIGVEGM6H5RGAY5Z4

U.S. says to commit $55 bln to Africa ahead of summit

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="549" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SNXEFTLU4BIDFLE337QBRSQZNQ-820x549.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421957" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SNXEFTLU4BIDFLE337QBRSQZNQ-820x549.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SNXEFTLU4BIDFLE337QBRSQZNQ-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SNXEFTLU4BIDFLE337QBRSQZNQ-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SNXEFTLU4BIDFLE337QBRSQZNQ-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SNXEFTLU4BIDFLE337QBRSQZNQ.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>U.S. President Joe Biden meets with South Africa&#8217;s President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Tuesday the establishment of an advisory council on engagement with the African diaspora in the United States, as Washington seeks to deepen ties with the region through a summit this week.



Dana Banks, special assistant to the president and special adviser for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2Z02NR&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit</a>, said Biden will sign an executive order to establish the President&#8217;s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement in the United States on Tuesday, which she said will advise the president on a range of issues.



The move will come on the first day of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, during which Biden will meet leaders of African countries. An African and Diaspora Young Leaders Forum is set to take place on Tuesday as part of the summit.



&#8220;African voices are essential to solving global problems. To elevate these voices, one of our primary focuses is to widen our circle of engagement to include African Diaspora communities,&#8221; Banks said.



It was not immediately clear who would be on the council but Banks said it would be made up of diverse representatives from African-American and African immigrant communities who have distinguished themselves in government, business, social work, sports and other areas.



&#8220;It will advise the President on a wide range of issues, enhance the dialogue between U.S. officials and the African Diaspora, and strengthen cultural, social, political, and economic ties between African communities, the global African Diaspora, and the United States,&#8221; Banks said.



A spokesperson for the National Security Council said the African Diaspora includes African Americans, including descendants of enslaved Africans, and nearly 2 million African immigrants.



Biden is also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N32Z1MU&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">expected to announce</a>&nbsp;during the summit support for the African Union joining the G20 group of the world&#8217;s largest economies as a permanent member.



The summit comes after the United States released a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2ZJ0HG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new strategy</a>&nbsp;document for Sub-Saharan Africa in August, stressing the region&#8217;s importance, the threats posed by China and Russia, and vowing to extend defense cooperation with like-minded African countries.



(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

SNXEFTLU4BIDFLE337QBRSQZNQ

Biden to unveil council on African diaspora in United States

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-421937" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



Inflation has already peaked, but it will remain above pre-Covid levels in 2023, said David Mann, chief economist for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa at the Mastercard Economics Institute.



“Inflation has seen its peak this year, but it will still be above what we had been used to pre-pandemic next year,” Mann told CNBC’s “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/asia-squawk-box/">Squawk Box Asia</a>” on Friday.&nbsp;



It’ll take a few years to return to 2019 levels, he said.&nbsp;



“We do expect that we go back down in the direction of where we were back in 2019 where we were still debating how many countries needed negative interest rates.”



Central banks around the world have been hiking interest rates as recently as November in response to high inflation.



They include central banks from the Group of 10 countries — such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Reserve Bank of Australia — as well those of emerging markets, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/global-central-banks-extend-rate-hike-push-november-2022-12-05/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reuters reported</a>.



The Fed will hold its December policy meeting this week, where it is<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/08/treasury-yields-as-investors-fret-over-fed-policy-.html">&nbsp;expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points.&nbsp;</a>The central bank has raised rates by 375 basis points so far this year.&nbsp;



“Inflation has become that big challenge. It’s been spiking and staying very high,” Mann said. But he warned that it would be risky if central banks end up hiking rates more than they need to.&nbsp;



“The challenge is if you’ve lost orientation of where the sky and the ground is, you’re not quite sure where you need to end up,” Mann said.&nbsp;



It would be a “serious scenario” if central banks “end up going slightly too far and then need to reverse relatively quickly,” he added.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-consumer-spending"><a></a>Consumer spending</h2>



Despite high inflation, Mann said, U.S. consumers are still willing to engage in discretionary spending in areas such as travel.&nbsp;



Travel recovery in the U.S. is strong and people are still choosing to spend on experiences rather than material goods, Mann said.



And they are being frugal about their spending on necessities in order to be able to afford non-essentials, he added.



“There is something in the back of people’s minds that worries them that even though it’s not very likely, it’s still possible that those [Covid] restrictions [will] come back,” he said.&nbsp;

107164436-1670814796566-gettyimages-1383939779-dsc09034_07fafc4e-3b53-47cd-9987-3ca675b670f5

Inflation has peaked — but it’s not returning to pre-Covid levels in 2023, Mastercard says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107144525-1667370412852-Generic_CNBC_STOCK_WORLD_CUP-820x461.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421833" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107144525-1667370412852-Generic_CNBC_STOCK_WORLD_CUP-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107144525-1667370412852-Generic_CNBC_STOCK_WORLD_CUP-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107144525-1667370412852-Generic_CNBC_STOCK_WORLD_CUP-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107144525-1667370412852-Generic_CNBC_STOCK_WORLD_CUP-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107144525-1667370412852-Generic_CNBC_STOCK_WORLD_CUP-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107144525-1667370412852-Generic_CNBC_STOCK_WORLD_CUP.jpg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



From&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/AAPL/">Apple</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/700-HK/">Tencent</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/LVMHF/">LVMH</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BHP-AU/">BHP</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/NPSNY/">Naspers</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/NFLX/">Netflix</a>.



As we head into the World Cup season, “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/street-signs-asia/">Street Signs Asia</a>” will be taking a look at some of the world’s biggest companies and pitting them against each other for the inaugural CNBC Stock World Cup 2022.



Starting with the initial stages on Nov. 7, we’ll ask experts from across the globe to rate each match-up based on one key question: If you invest today, which of the two companies going head to head will give you a greater total return over the next 12 months?



Thirty-two companies. One final champion.



Round of 8: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/12/06/cnbc-stock-world-cup--612.html">LVMH vs. Nintendo — Nintendo wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/12/01/cnbc-stock-world-cup-tesla-vs-tsmc-who-wins.html">Tesla vs. TSMC — TSMC wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/30/cnbc-stock-world-cup-berkshire-hathaway-vs-disney-who-wins.html">Berkshire Hathaway vs. Disney — Berkshire Hathaway wins</a>



Round of 16: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/29/cnbc-stock-world-cup-alibaba-vs-tsmc-who-wins.html">Alibaba vs. TSMC — TSMC wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/28/cnbc-stock-world-cup-tesla-vs-united-healthcare-who-wins.html">Tesla vs. United Healthcare — Tesla wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/25/cnbc-stock-world-cup-lvmh-vs-exxon-who-wins.html">LVMH vs. Exxon — LVMH wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/24/cnbc-stock-world-cup-softbank-vs-bhp-who-wins.html">SoftBank vs. BHP — SoftBank wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/23/cnbc-stock-world-cup-nintendo-vs-visa-who-wins.html">Nintendo vs. Visa — Nintendo wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/22/cnbc-stock-world-cup-google-vs-disney-who-wins.html">Google vs. Disney — Disney wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/21/cnbc-stock-world-cup-berkshire-hathaway-vs-walmart-who-wins.html">Berkshire Hathaway vs. Walmart — Berkshire Hathaway wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/18/cnbc-stock-world-cup-jp-morgan-vs-apple-who-wins.html">JPMorgan vs. Apple — JPMorgan wins</a>



Round of 32: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/17/cnbc-stock-world-cup-berkshire-hathway-vs-reliance-industries.html">Berkshire Hathaway vs. Reliance Industries — Berkshire Hathaway wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/17/cnbc-stock-world-cup-meta-vs-nintendo-and-walmart-vs-home-depot.html">Meta vs. Nintendo — Nintendo wins | Walmart vs. Home Depot — Walmart wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/15/cnbc-stock-world-cup-nvidia-or-tsmc-who-wins.html">Nvidia vs. TSMC — TSMC wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/14/cnbc-stock-world-cup-toyota-vs-tesla-and-tencent-vs-google.html">Toyota vs. Tesla — Tesla wins | Tencent vs. Google — Google wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/11/cnbc-stock-world-cup-alibaba-vs-amazon-and-coca-cola-vs-lvmh.html">Alibaba vs. Amazon — Alibaba wins | Coca-Cola vs. LVMH — LVMH wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/10/cnbc-stock-world-cup-exxon-vs-aramco-and-vale-vs-bhp-who-wins.html">Exxon vs. Aramco — Exxon wins | Vale vs. BHP — BHP wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/09/cnbc-stock-world-cup-united-healthcare-vs-jj-and-netflix-vs-disney.html">United Healthcare vs. Johnson &amp; Johnson – United Healthcare wins | Disney vs. Netflix — Disney wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/08/cnbc-stock-world-cup-apple-vs-samsung-and-jpmorgan-vs-bank-of-america--who-wins.html">Apple vs. Samsung — Apple wins | JPMorgan vs. Bank of America — JPMorgan wins</a> <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/11/07/cnbc-stock-world-cup-will-visa-or-microsoft-give-investors-a-greater-total-return.html">Microsoft vs. Visa — Visa wins | Naspers vs. SoftBank — SoftBank wins</a>

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CNBC Stock World Cup 2022: Recap of winners and losers so far

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107159296-1669841742367-jerome-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421727" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107159296-1669841742367-jerome-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107159296-1669841742367-jerome-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107159296-1669841742367-jerome-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107159296-1669841742367-jerome-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107159296-1669841742367-jerome-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/107159296-1669841742367-jerome-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed Wednesday that smaller interest rate increases are likely ahead even as he sees progress in the fight against inflation as largely inadequate.



Echoing recent statements from other central bank officials and comments at the November Fed meeting, Powell said he sees the central bank in position to reduce the size of rate hikes as soon as next month.



But he cautioned that monetary policy is likely to stay restrictive for some time until real signs of progress emerge on inflation.



“Despite some promising developments, we have a long way to go in restoring price stability,” Powell said in remarks delivered at the Brookings Institution.



The chairman noted that policy moves such as interest rate increases and the reduction of the Fed’s bond holdings generally take time to make their way through the system.



“Thus, it makes sense to moderate the pace of our rate increases as we approach the level of restraint that will be sufficient to bring inflation down,” he added. “The time for moderating the pace of rate increases may come as soon as the December meeting.”



Wall Street applauded the remarks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 737 points, or 2.18%, to snap a three-session losing streak. Tech stocks fared even better, with the Nasdaq Composite roaring 4.41% higher.



“The on-the-day equity market surge is in part a relief rally,” wrote Krishna Guha, head of global policy and central bank strategy at Evercore ISI. “Many investors feared the Fed chair would take a max hawkish sledgehammer to the recent easing of financial conditions &#8230; That overhang has now gone.″



Markets already had been pricing in about a 65% chance that the Fed would step down its interest rate increases to half of a percentage point in December, following four successive 0.75-point moves, according to CME Group data. That pace of rate hikes is the most aggressive since the early 1980s.



Following Powell’s speech, the probability for a half-point move rose to 77%.



What remains to be seen is where the Fed goes from there.



Markets took a more dovish tone from Powell’s speech, with the top rate put at just shy of 5% by May 2023 and bets that the Fed will cut half a point by the end of the year.



The pricing in the likelihood of rate reductions countered Powell’s warning that restrictive policy will stay in place until inflation shows more consistent signs of receding.



“Given our progress in tightening policy, the timing of that moderation is far less significant than the questions of how much further we will need to raise rates to control inflation, and the length of time it will be necessary to hold policy at a restrictive level,” Powell said.



“It is likely that restoring price stability will require holding policy at a restrictive level for some time. History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy,” he added. “We will stay the course until the job is done.”



Powell’s remarks come with some halting signs that inflation is ebbing and the ultra-tight labor market is loosening.



Earlier this month, the consumer price index indicated inflation rising but by less than what economists had estimated. Separate reports Wednesday showed private payroll growth far lower than expected in November while job openings also declined.



However, Powell said short-term data can be deceptive and he needs to see more consistent evidence.



For instance, he said Fed economists expect that the central bank’s preferred core personal consumption expenditures price index in October, to be released Thursday, will show inflation running at a 5% annual pace. That would be down from 5.1% in September but still well ahead of the Fed’s 2% long-run target.



“It will take substantially more evidence to give comfort that inflation is actually declining,” Powell said. “By any standard, inflation remains much too high.”



“I will simply say that we have more ground to cover,” he added.



Powell added that he expects the ultimate peak for rates – the “terminal rate” – will be “somewhat higher than thought” when the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee members made their last projections in September. Committee members at the time said they expected the terminal rate to hit 4.6%; markets now see it in the 5%-5.25% range, according to CME Group data.



Supply chain issues at the core of the inflation burst have eased, Powell said, while growth broadly has slowed to below trend, even with a 2.9% annualized gain in third-quarter GDP. He expects housing inflation to rise into next year but then likely fall.



However, he said the labor market has shown “only tentative signs of rebalancing” after job openings had outnumbered available workers by a 2 to 1 margin. That gap has closed to 1.7 to 1 but remains well above historical norms.



The tight labor market has resulted in a big boost in worker wages that nonetheless have failed to keep up with inflation.



“To be clear, strong wage growth is a good thing. But for wage growth to be sustainable, it needs to be consistent with 2% inflation,” he said.



Powell spoke at length about the factors keeping labor force participation low, a key factor in addressing the imbalance between open jobs and available workers. He said an important issue as been “excess retirements” during the Covid pandemic.

107159296-1669841742367-jerome

Fed Chair Powell says smaller interest rate hikes could start in December

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="540" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1245220812-1-820x540.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421684" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1245220812-1-820x540.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1245220812-1-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1245220812-1-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1245220812-1-768x506.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1245220812-1-1536x1012.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1245220812-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FUYANG, CHINA &#8211; NOVEMBER 30, 2022 &#8211; Workers assemble loudspeakers at a production line in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, China, Nov 30, 2022. China&#8217;s purchasing Managers&#8217; Index (PMI) for November was released by the National Bureau of Statistics. In November, the manufacturing PMI fell to 48.0%, below the critical point for two consecutive months, indicating greater downward pressure on the manufacturing sector. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Asia-Pacific shares were mostly higher on Wednesday as the reading for China’s November factory activity&nbsp;fell short of expectations, dropping to the lowest reading since April 2022.



Hong Kong’s&nbsp;Hang Seng index&nbsp;traded 0.22% higher, the&nbsp;Shanghai Composite&nbsp;rose 0.21%, while the&nbsp;Shenzhen Component&nbsp;was 0.38% higher.



Chinese health officials on Tuesday&nbsp;announced&nbsp;measures to boost vaccination among the elderly, an indicator which is seen as important for reopening the economy, while saying it is “closely watching the virus” for developments when asked if the ongoing unrest would lead to a shift in its zero-Covid policy.



This is a developing story&#8230;

GettyImages-1245220812-1

China’s factory activity at lowest reading since April; Asia markets mixed

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="768" height="402" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AA14Ef9m.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-421664" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AA14Ef9m.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AA14Ef9m-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AA14Ef9m-160x84.jpg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /><figcaption>The name mpox, otherwise known as Mpox, was chosen after the WHO launched a public consultation process earlier this year. Orlando Sentinel | Tribune News Service | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The World Health Organization said Monday that it would begin referring to monkeypox as mpox in an effort to reduce stigma around the name of the virus.



Both names will be used simultaneously for a year while moneypox is phased out, the global health organization said in a post on its website, encouraging others to follow the new naming convention.



The decision comes after the name monkeypox — so named after first being identified in monkeys — was criticized for adding to racial and sexual stigmatization.



Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that has undergone its largest global outbreak this year, spreading significantly in non-endemic countries outside of West and Central Africa, and primarily among gay and bisexual men.



The name mpox was chosen after the WHO launched a public consultation process earlier this year, opening out a process usually reserved for a closed door technical committee.



Poxy McPoxface, TRUMP-22 and mpox were among some of the names submitted.



The WHO said it hoped the chosen name mpox would “minimize any ongoing negative impact of the current name.”



The name mpox was submitted by men’s health organization Rezo. Its director said at the time that he hoped the removal of monkey imagery helped people take the health emergency seriously.



Over 81,000 cases of monkeypox and 55 deaths have been reported across 110 countries, so far this year, according to the WHO.

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