<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194473623-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-577169" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194473623-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194473623-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194473623-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194473623-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194473623-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194473623-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lesetja Kganyago, governor of South Africa&#8217;s Reserve Bank, during a Bloomberg Television interview at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from January 20 to 24. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s economic outlook is better this year than last, but the inflation picture is more muddied as risks abound, its central bank governor said on Tuesday.



South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago told Reuters in an interview at the World Economic Forum&#8217;s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, that growth in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised economy could be close to 2% in 2025, versus the 1.1% growth projected for 2024.



&#8220;Depending on who is forecasting, growth varies between 1.6% and 2% (this year). We think &#8230; it would be closer to 2% than closer to 1.6%,&#8221; he told the Reuters Global Markets Forum.



Kganyago cited the formation of a broad coalition government last year as one of the key enablers of faster growth.



&#8220;The structural reform agenda has gained momentum, and it has been given impetus by this Government of National Unity with a very clear focus on taking South Africa&#8217;s economic trajectory to the next level,&#8221; he said.



The coalition that emerged after the long-ruling African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority includes the business-friendly Democratic Alliance and a host of other smaller parties from across the political spectrum.



Investors are optimistic that reforms in key sectors such as electricity, freight rail and the visa system will accelerate and lift the annual growth rate beyond the meagre 1% it has averaged over the past decade.



Kganyago warned that South Africa&#8217;s inflation outlook could be muddied by factors including protectionist policies with the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House.



With other risks including the rand exchange rate, the global oil price and local food prices, there are &#8220;too many moving parts&#8221; to have a clear view on price pressures, he said.



Annual consumer inflation was at 2.9% in November, below the SARB&#8217;s target range of 3%-6%, although it is expected to rise in December and this year average about 4.5%, the midpoint of the range which the bank aims for.



The SARB cut interest rates at its last two meetings of 2024, and many analysts expect a further cut at its first announcement of the year next Thursday.



(Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Davos; Additional reporting and writing by Kopano Gumbi in Johannesburg; Editing by Alexander Winning and Alex Richardson)

Opening Day Of World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025

South African growth outlook has improved but inflation risks abound, central bank says at Davos

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="504" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/23WCRTIR7NLJLLNGJAAE2KWBSQ-820x504.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-577142" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/23WCRTIR7NLJLLNGJAAE2KWBSQ-820x504.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/23WCRTIR7NLJLLNGJAAE2KWBSQ-300x185.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/23WCRTIR7NLJLLNGJAAE2KWBSQ-146x90.jpg 146w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/23WCRTIR7NLJLLNGJAAE2KWBSQ-768x472.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/23WCRTIR7NLJLLNGJAAE2KWBSQ-1536x945.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/23WCRTIR7NLJLLNGJAAE2KWBSQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Protesters throw stones during a &#8220;national shutdown&#8221; against the election outcome, at Luis Cabral township in Maputo, Mozambique, November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



Jan 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mozambique&#8217;s largest port, Maputo, reported a 1% decline in volumes in 2024 mainly due to post-election protests that forced border closures and road blockages, the port operator said on Tuesday.



The southeast African country was rocked by opposition protests after a disputed Oct. 9 vote won by Daniel Chapo and his Frelimo party, which has governed Mozambique since 1975. The unrest has left more than 300 people dead following a crackdown by security forces.



Maputo port volumes for 2024 dipped to 30.9 million metric tons, from a record 31.2 million metric tons in 2023, the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) said in a statement.



&#8220;The slight decrease in total volumes &#8230; was primarily due to the post-electoral protests and road blockages in the Maputo corridor, including border closure for several days and conditioned border and road operations for more than a month consolidated,&#8221; MPDC said.



The rail corridor from South Africa to Mozambique was also affected by the protests and blockages, paired with a derailment in October and November, which shut the line for a month, MPDC added.



The Maputo port is handling growing volumes mainly driven by commodity exporters increasingly sending cargo through Mozambique to get around logistics bottlenecks in South Africa. Goods handled include coal, chrome, copper, and grains such as maize and wheat.



The MPDC is a consortium including multinational logistics firm DP World, South Africa&#8217;s Grindrod Ltd, and Mozambique&#8217;s state-owned rail operator Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique.



The consortium, first granted the Maputo port concession in 2003, was last year granted an extension to 2058. The port is also set to be expanded to handle 58 million tons of cargo, from 37 million tons currently.



(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Mark Potter)

Mozambique opposition party leads national shutdown against election outcome

Mozambique’s Maputo port volumes dip after post-election unrest

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-577095" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. President Donald Trump during a rally at Capital One Arena ahead of the 60th presidential inauguration in Washington, DC, US, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.  Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-you-need-to-know-today">What you need to know today</h2>



The 47th U.S. president President Donald J. Trump was sworn into the White House on Monday and began signing a flurry of executive orders. He issued “full pardons” to people charged in relation to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; halted, for at least 75 days, the enforcement of a law that would ban TikTok in the United States; and created the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.



National energy emergency declared Trump on Monday declared a national energy emergency — part of a sweeping agenda that aims to increase fossil fuel production — and ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. He also repealed the Biden administration’s various climate goals, such as achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.



Trump targets tariffs Trump told reporters on Monday that he’s thinking of imposing levies of 25% on Mexico and Canada, and is targeting Feb. 1 for them to come into effect. He also issued a trade memorandum instructing federal agencies to scrutinize trade policies with other nations, especially China, Canada and Mexico — but the memo stopped short of introducing new duties.



Biden’s pardons Former U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday issued preemptive pardons for several family members, citing concerns that they would be targeted by “baseless and politically motivated investigations.” Biden also issued pardons for Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, members of Congress who investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and others who he said were under threat of being “baselessly” targeted for political purposes.



Asian markets rise after inauguration U.S. markets were closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Stock futures mostly edged lower Tuesday after Trump indicated he’s considering tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Asia-Pacific markets advanced Tuesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added almost 1%, while Korea’s Kospi index ticked down around 0.1% as the country’s wholesale inflation rate for December climbed 1.7% on an annual basis.



[PRO] Second time an echo of the first? Trump’s second term might have the same effects on certain asset classes as it did the first-time round, according to some on Wall Street. To find out, CNBC Pro looked at the performance of several assets during the first 100 days of Trump’s last presidency and asked analysts how those assets will fare.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bottom-line"><a></a>The bottom line</h2>



Donald Trump has hit the ground running since officially becoming the 47th president of the United States, signing numerous executive orders fresh off his inauguration. Here are the two main issues investors will keep an eye on.



Tariffs



“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff,’” Trump told the Chicago Economic Club in October. Trump said on Monday he’s mulling over imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico by Feb. 1. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to levy a universal tariff of up to 20% on all imports to the U.S and more than 60% on Chinese products.



Tariffs are imposed by governments ostensibly to protect domestic industries. Companies that import goods pay what is essentially a tax, driving up costs. This nudges them to look for local suppliers instead.



With supply chains being so integrated globally, and much of the manufacturing being done outside the U.S., companies may find it hard to shift production to local shores. The higher costs, then, will likely be passed on to the consumer in the form of increased prices.



In other words, tariffs could lead to more inflation.



Deportations



At a pre-inauguration event titled “Make America Great Again Victory Rally,” Trump pledged to his supporters that “the invasion of our country will have come to a halt.” Like tariffs, tighter immigration policies — or outright deportations — are typically enacted to protect the domestic economy (among other reasons).



The theory is that, with fewer people competing for each open job, it’ll be easier to gain employment.



But many parts of the U.S. economy, such as construction and agriculture, are staffed by undocumented immigrants, who take on jobs undesirable to residents. Even documented immigrants are crucial to higher-skilled sectors such as tech — as proven by Elon Musk’s tussle with Trump supporters over H-1B visas.



If reliable sources of labor vanish overnight, companies will have to raise wages to attract talent, which might reintroduce the prospect of the dreaded wage-price spiral.



Other policies



Trump has promised many other economic measures, such as corporate tax cuts, legitimizing cryptocurrency and pulling back on green energy subsidies.



Tariffs, however, might have the biggest impact on the economy and financial institutions globally.



— CNBC’s Sam Meredith, Ryan Ermey, Annie Nova, Rebecca Picciotto, Evelyn Cheng and Lim Hui Jie contributed to this report.

108089378-1737420172919-gettyimages-2194232437-TRUMP_INAUGURATION_2025

Keep an eye on these Trump 2.0 policies

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-576846" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. President Donald Trump at a press conference at the end of the NATO summit in July 12, 2018. Bernd von Jutrczenka | dpa | picture alliance | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Monday, and much of the world is watching on with bated breath.



The prospect of more unpredictable foreign and trade policies, particularly the threat of universal trade tariffs of 10-20%, has stoked concerns internationally and spooked financial markets. But Trump’s transactional approach and his “America First” policy are not universally feared.



In fact, many countries welcome a new era that’s being labeled “Trump 2.0.”



“Trump’s return is lamented by America’s long-term allies, but almost nobody else,” the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank said as it published a global poll that found that people in China and Russia were more optimistic about Trump’s return to power than long-standing allies in Europe and Asia.



“Many think Trump will not just be good for America but that he will bring peace or reduce tensions in Ukraine, the Middle East and U.S.-China relations,” the poll of over 28,000 people in 24 countries found.



“In countries from India and China to Turkey and Brazil, more respondents think Trump will be good for America, for their country and for peace in the world than think he will be bad for them,” the ECFR said of the findings.



The survey showed that respondents in India, Saudi Arabia and Russia were the most optimistic about Trump’s return to office, both in terms of it being good for U.S. citizens and for their own countries.



Almost 60% of Russian respondents felt Trump’s election was good for U.S. citizens and 49% felt it was a good thing for Russia.



Closely following, 46% of Chinese respondents felt Trump’s return was good for China. That’s despite Trump’s threat to impose tariffs of 60% to 100% on goods imported from China, a move that could deal a blow to the Chinese economy but also backfire, likely pushing up prices for U.S. consumers.



Positive sentiment toward Trump among the original BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) — and the belief that a more peaceful world might ensue as a result of his presidency — was far higher than in the EU, U.K. and South Korea, where only 11% of citizens polled regarded a Trump presidency as a good thing for their future.



Just a tad more cheerful, only 15% of British respondents thought Trump would be good for the U.K. So much for the “special relationship.”



“When Donald Trump returns to the White House, much of the world will welcome him. In Europe, anxiety is widespread, but people in many other countries feel either relaxed or actively positive about Trump’s second term,” the ECFR noted as it published the survey, conducted in November.



“U.S. allies in Europe and South Korea are notably pessimistic about the incoming president — suggesting a further weakening of the geopolitical ‘West’,” it added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trump-empowered"><a></a>Trump empowered</h2>



Geopolitical analysts say things will be different with President Trump this time round, and the world needs to be ready.



Not only will he be emboldened by the scale of his 2024 electoral victory, the firm support of a unified Republican Party and returning to the White House with more experience, he has also surrounded himself with loyalists who are more ideologically aligned with him, noted Ian Bremmer, founder and president of Eurasia Group.



Bremmer told CNBC that Trump 2.0 will see the president hold more power and sway than before, while the West and the Group of Seven — a group that includes the U.K., Canada and Germany — lose status.



“Trump has significantly more power vis-a-vis other countries this time around — both U.S. allies and adversaries — so they’re more inclined to listen to him and take him seriously,” Bremmer told CNBC in emailed comments.&nbsp;



“Trump also has more countries and populations lined up in support of his “my country first” approach to governing,” Bremmer added.



“He had a strong relationship with Israel and the Gulf states in his first term, but now add to that Italy, Hungary, Argentina, El Salvador … and large parts of populations in a number of other countries as well. It’s very different than Trump showing up at the G20 and everyone snickering behind his back,” he noted.



“Today’s G-Zero world is a very different environment,” Bremmer added, referring to his view of a world in which no one power or group of powers is willing and able to drive a global agenda to maintain international order.



Market analysts agree that while Trump’s antipathy toward China, the U.S.′ greatest economic rival, is well known, his long-standing ambivalence toward NATO and his anger over a continuing trade deficit with much of Europe make allies on the continent a target for Trump’s likely more assertive, and potentially hostile, trade and defense policies.



European countries make up the majority of constituents of NATO and the EU is the U.S.′ largest trading partner as a bloc.



“Here in Europe, we are concerned,” market strategist Bill Blain [if he’s not independent can we state the company/org he’s from please] said in emailed comments last week. “However, the rest of the World is largely unbothered at the scale of change that might be coming.”



“It’s clear the geopolitical lines are being redrawn. So will the grounds of global economics be redefined,” Blain added.

105325942-1531403759987gettyimages-996948238

As America braces for Trump 2.0, here’s how the world views his return

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194135899-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-576815" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194135899-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194135899-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194135899-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194135899-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194135899-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2194135899-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Attendees in the Congress Center ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from January 20 to 24. Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — It’s that time of year when the great and the good gather for the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.



A slew of heads of state, politicians and business moguls are set to attend the four-day event in the Alpine resort — but what might be more telling is which leaders are sidestepping the forum.



While Donald Trump, who is being inaugurated as U.S. president on Monday, is expected to address the forum via live video link on Thursday, a number of key leaders will be completely absent from the event.



These include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.



Of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations — which includes the U.S., Europe’s biggest economies, Canada and Japan — the only head of state attending the summit in person is outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.



WEF says this year’s event — the 55th annual forum, which runs from Monday to Thursday — will convene close to 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, with the gathering “demonstrating the critical need for dialogue in an increasingly uncertain era.” It notes that 350 government leaders, including 60 heads of state and governments, “will gather in Davos-Klosters to address pressing challenges and shape emerging opportunities.”



The theme of the event is “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,” with the agenda focusing on five key areas: reimagining growth, industries in the intelligent age, investing in people, safeguarding the planted and rebuilding trust.



Not all world leaders will be there to discuss these issues, however.



“The leaders of Brazil, of China, of India, who gave the keynote speeches 10 years ago, are not there now. Russia has not been welcomed for some years now, Keir Starmer is not going to be there. Macron’s not going to be there,” Jan&nbsp;Aart&nbsp;Scholte, professor of global transformations and governance challenges at Leiden University, told CNBC Thursday.



“True, the prime minister of Spain is going to be there and there are a couple of others, but the general picture of the heads of state, of government that are there is that it’s not the big players. I think if you went through a list of the G20, it’s going to be a small minority [who are attending],” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-collective-effort"><a></a>Collective effort</h2>



There is often no official reason given for a lack of participation in WEF, but pressing domestic problems — ranging from slowing economic growth to political crises — are known to keep heads of government at home.



In recent years, there has also been some ambivalence over attending an event that has been accused of being elite and out-of-touch.



The forum has repeatedly stated that it provides a space where stakeholders from across business, government, academia, civil society, media and the arts can “meet on a global, impartial, not-for-profit platform.”



These people, it says, “come together to find common ground and seize opportunities for positive change on large global issues.”



In a statement to CNBC on Monday, WEF said that while it always values the presence of key global leaders, “the Annual Meeting’s impact and ability to drive meaningful dialogue, and action is defined by the collective efforts of a broad and representative community.”



This year’s program, the forum continued, “is designed to address the most pressing global challenges, including economic fragmentation, technological transformation, and climate action.”



“We recognize that global leaders face a wide range of commitments and responsibilities, and their absence does not diminish our ongoing engagement with their respective governments and institutions throughout the year,” WEF added.



Who will be there A number of big names will still join this year’s summit — an event that began back in 1971 under the aegis of Klaus Schwab, who remained executive chairman of the event until the start of this year.



Ding Xuexiang, the vice premier of China, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Javier Milei, the prime minister of Argentina and Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, are all due to hold speeches in Davos this week.



The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will likewise attend, as will the leaders of global organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization.



Sven Smit, a senior partner at strategic WEF partner&nbsp;McKinsey&nbsp;&amp; Company said in online comments that it would be a priority for participants to “understand what is on the mind of the leaders who are at Davos.”



“You can’t fully predict it, there are themes out there that people suggest, they range from growth to sustainability, but what distils as a Davos theme is not fully predictable and that’s the interesting part,” Smit said.



However, many of the Western institutions in attendance have, in recent years, found themselves on the wrong side of a push against globalization by populist leaders like Trump, and countries like Russia and China.



WEF, too, has fallen foul of this anti-establishment trend, Scholte noted, and while the presence of leaders like Trump might not have been sought out in the past, there is now an acceptance that the world has changed.



“I don’t think that the promoters of a liberal, open world economy speak with quite as much disdain, let’s say, of contrary forces and views as they might have done, say, before the global financial crisis,” he said.



“I think there’s a bit more modesty that, no, it sometimes doesn’t fully work. And no, we haven’t always taken sufficient account of those who feel excluded from this.”



Nonetheless, he stressed that WEF was still a draw for many business and political leaders.



“There are various indicators that a site like the World Economic Forum isn’t as strong a magnet as it might have been a couple of decades ago,” Scholte said. “But the idea that it’s no longer a magnet, and the idea that it also doesn’t have certain areas within world economic governance where it can still be very strong, I think that would be wrong.”

Davos Prepares To Host World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025

As WEF gets underway, the list of world leaders not attending Davos speaks volumes

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088768-1737318993901-gettyimages-2194750964-4m7a5799_kbh8pivj-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-576785" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088768-1737318993901-gettyimages-2194750964-4m7a5799_kbh8pivj-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088768-1737318993901-gettyimages-2194750964-4m7a5799_kbh8pivj-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088768-1737318993901-gettyimages-2194750964-4m7a5799_kbh8pivj-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088768-1737318993901-gettyimages-2194750964-4m7a5799_kbh8pivj-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088768-1737318993901-gettyimages-2194750964-4m7a5799_kbh8pivj-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108088768-1737318993901-gettyimages-2194750964-4m7a5799_kbh8pivj-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">In this photo illustration an iPhone displays a popup message on the social media platform TikTok on January 19, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  Kayla Bartkowski | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



TikTok was available to some U.S. users on Sunday after President-elect Donald Trump said that he would sign an executive order on Monday following his inauguration to delay a federal ban of the app.



In a statement on X, the company wrote that it would bring back access to its American users.



“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” TikTok wrote. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”



The decision is “a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” the company added. “We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”



This came after Trump wrote on his social media app Truth Social he would “issue an executive order on Monday” to extend the period of time before the ban was set to take place.



“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark!” Trump wrote on Sunday morning.



Although TikTok was shut down for American users late Saturday night, and also removed from Apple and Google’s app stores, some were able to log on to the platform on Sunday through their mobile apps and desktops.



The law banning TikTok was set to take effect on Sunday as ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, had not yet divested the company to a non-Chinese entity. The Supreme Court had ruled on Friday to uphold the law that would ban the app and penalize third-party internet service providers, such as Apple and Google, if they supported TikTok on their platforms after the ban went into effect.



Despite TikTok’s pledge to reinstate service in the U.S. following Trump’s statement, the company’s future remains unclear under the current law.



Trump has previously stated on Truth Social that he would like the U.S. to hold 50% ownership of TikTok in a joint venture to “keep it in good hands and allow it to stay up.” However, ByteDance has not changed its stance on having no plans to sell the company.

108087891-17370552112025-01-16t184115z_264065835_rc26bcansfjq_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok

TikTok restoring U.S. service after Trump provided ‘assurance’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-576489" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok-1.jpeg 1920w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok-1-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok-1-1536x864.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dado Ruvic | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Apple and Google removed TikTok from their app stores Saturday night, complying with a law requiring China’s ByteDance to divest the social app or see it face an effective ban in the U.S. 



The Apple App Store and the Google Play store’s removal of TikTok means people in the U.S. can no longer download the popular short-form video app on their devices. The app’s delisting comes after the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which President Joe Biden signed in April. TikTok on Friday said its service would go dark, meaning it would stop working for Americans, unless the Biden administration intervened.



On Apple’s App Store, a message saying “App Not Available” appears on TikTok’s former app-install page.



“This app is currently not available in your country or region,” the message said.



“We’re sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server,” said a message on the page the previously hosted TikTok on the Google Play store.



Some users who visited TikTok’s app and website on Saturday were greeted with a message that said, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”



“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” the notice said. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”



Lemon8, another service owned by ByteDance, also displayed a notice letting users know it wasn’t available in the U.S. The app had shot up the charts recently, becoming one of the most popular free apps on iOS.



“Sorry, Lemon8 isn’t available right now,” the notice states.



The law requires that service providers no longer support TikTok within the U.S. if ByteDance failed to carry out a “qualified divestiture” of the app by Sunday. As a result, Apple, Google and Oracle could face tough penalties for failing to adhere to the law. Apple and Google previously distributed the app through its app stores while Oracle provides cloud computing services to TikTok and said in June that the law would hurt its business.



After the Supreme Court’s decision, TikTok CEO Shou Chew said use of TikTok is a First Amendment right and added that over 7 million American businesses use it to make money and find customers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-awaiting-trump"><a></a>Awaiting Trump</h2>



“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home for limitless creativity and discovery as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come,” Chew said in a TikTok video.



Chew also thanked President-elect Donald Trump, who previously asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.” Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington on Monday, along with tech leaders from companies including Meta, Amazon, Apple and Google.



Trump arrived in Washington Saturday evening. His transition team did not immediately respond to the TikTok shutdown. Trump on Friday said that the Supreme Court’s decision was expected “and everyone must respect it.”



“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media app Truth Social.



White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Saturday acknowledged TikTok’s statement that it would go dark and characterized it as a “stunt.”



“We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration,” Jean-Pierre said. “So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.“ Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he would “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day extension of the Sunday deadline, and that he would “probably announce” a decision on Monday.



“I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at,” Trump said in the phone interview. “The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it’s appropriate. You know, it’s appropriate. We have to look at it carefully. It’s a very big situation.”



Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI on Saturday submitted a bid for TikTok that would result in the AI-powered search engine startup combine with TikTok’s U.S. operations and new capital partners, CNBC reported.



Businessman Frank McCourt’s internet advocacy group Project Liberty announced on Jan. 9, that it had submitted a proposal to buy TikTok from ByteDance at undisclosed terms. McCourt told CNBC on Friday that “we, I believe, are the only bidder” that meets the necessary criteria of disentangling the technology from the Chinese algorithm.

108087889-17370551552025-01-16t184404z_820877807_rc26bcaoa7bg_rtrmadp_0_usa-china-tiktok (1)

Apple, Google remove TikTok from stores as app halts service in U.S.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="648" height="338" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087533-1737021407372-gettyimages-2192558603-cfoto-shanghai250110_npafS.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-575896" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087533-1737021407372-gettyimages-2192558603-cfoto-shanghai250110_npafS.jpeg 648w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087533-1737021407372-gettyimages-2192558603-cfoto-shanghai250110_npafS-300x156.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087533-1737021407372-gettyimages-2192558603-cfoto-shanghai250110_npafS-160x83.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Railway builders erect a box girder at the site of the standard project in front of the Huning section of the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei high-speed railway in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China, on January 10, 2025.  Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



China’s economic activity accelerated more than expected in the final three months of 2024 as stimulus measures kicked in, allowing Beijing to meet its annual growth target.



China’s gross domestic product expanded by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, beating Reuters-polled economists’ estimates of a 5.0% growth, and outpacing the 4.6% in the third quarter, 4.7% in the second quarter, 5.3% in the first quarter.



That last-quarter sprint helped lift China’s full-year GDP growth to 5.0% in 2024, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Friday, in line with the official target of “around 5%.”



“The shift of policy stance in September last year helped the economy to stabilize in Q4, but it requires large and persistent policy stimulus to boost economic momentum and sustain the recovery,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist, Pinpoint Asset Management, said in a note.



Last year’s growth was slower compared with the 5.4% rise in 2023, post-pandemic. As part of an annual revision to preliminary figures, the statistics bureau in late December revised the 2023 GDP growth to 7.4%, according to a CNBC calculation of the official data.



In December, retail sales jumped 3.7% from a year earlier, exceeding Reuters’ forecast of 3.5%. Industrial output expanded 6.2% from a year earlier, versus expectations of 5.4%, underscoring China’s imbalance between domestic production and weak demand.



The full-year fixed asset investment rose 3.2% in 2024, shy of the projected 3.3% increase in a Reuters poll, as real estate investment drag steepened to a 10.6% drop, compared with the January to November period.



Kang Yi, head of the statistics bureau, said real estate was recovering. The sector’s drag on economic growth had narrowed, he said, while the role of new growth drivers, such as in digital tech, was expanding.&nbsp;



The urban unemployment rate ticked higher to 5.1% in December from 5.0% in the prior month.



Disposable income for urban residents grew by 4.4%, slower than the overall economic growth, while that of rural residents increased by 6.3% in 2024.



Mainland China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index reversed course to edge up 0.31%, following the upbeat data. Chinese offshore yuan strengthened slightly to 7.3398 per U.S. dollar, while the benchmark 10-year government bond yield dropped 2 basis points to 1.638, according to the LSEG data.



“The stock market’s moderate response to today’s data release reflects investor caution as they await further policy clarity after the Chinese New Year,” said Chaoping Zhu, Shanghai-based global market strategist at J.P. Morgan asset management.



“There is room for domestic consumers and business confidence to rebound with the right policies in place,” Zhu added, stressing that “policy consistency and coordination will be crucial.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growth-demographic-concerns"><a></a>Growth, demographic concerns</h2>



However, some economists made the case that China’s economic recovery may not be as rosy as the headline figures suggest.&nbsp;



Despite the accelerated growth in real GDP figures, China’s economy saw deflation persisting for the seventh straight quarter, Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie said in a note.



Hu remained skeptical of China’s ability to achieve higher inflation. “We don’t bet against policymakers’ will and ability to deliver 5% real GDP growth in 2025, but can they achieve higher inflation? It will largely depend on the fiscal and housing stimulus, which is key to boosting domestic demand.”



China’s consumer inflation has remained barely above zero, while wholesale prices fell for a 27th consecutive month in December, official data showed last week.



Statistics bureau head Kang reiterated Friday Beijing’s priority this year was to boost consumption, while acknowledging that consumers’ ability to spend was still weak.



This year,&nbsp;the “unfavorable impact of external factors may deepen,” he flagged.



Friday’s data comes just days before Donald Trump is set to be inaugurated as the next U.S. president on Jan. 20. Trump has said that soon after taking office, he plans to impose additional tariffs of at least 10% on Chinese goods. He has also appointed some China hawks to key cabinet posts.



The growth momentum, buoyed by a surge in exports, may be sustained into the first quarter this year, said Erica Tay, director of macro research at Maybank. But it is likely to weigh on GDP growth in the second half-year, “regardless of Trump’s tariffs,” given that foreign importers have amassed ample stockpiles, she added.



The data released Friday indicated that “domestic growth engines remain soft as retail sales growth responded marginally to trade-in subsidies,” Tay said, pointing to sluggish consumer spending.



The national population&nbsp;declined to 1.408 billion in 2024, dropping by 1.39 million from 2023, according to the statistics bureau. It had declined by 2.08 million people in 2023 from the prior year.



The fall in population, despite a rebound in birth rates, reflects a deepening demographic crisis, said Tianchen Xu, senior economist at Economic Intelligence Unit, stressing that the death rate in China had ticked up to 7.76% last year from 7.1% before the pandemic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Stimulus boost</h2>



China has been striving to boost economic growth and has taken several measures towards this end, as a real estate slump and uncertainty about future income has continued to weigh down consumer spending and business confidence, adding to deflation concerns.



Since late September, Chinese authorities have called for halting the real estate decline, cut interest rates and announced a five-year fiscal package worth 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) to ease local governments’ financing crisis. Beijing has also expanded a program for consumers to trade-in used cars and home appliances, and buy new ones at a discount.



“They are betting on a substantial infusion of policy stimulus and reforms to turbo boost the country’s economy in 2025, invigorating domestic demand and warding off disinflationary loom,” said Bruce Pang, distinguished senior research fellow at the National Institution for Finance and Development.



Top leaders have pledged “proactive” fiscal measures and a “moderately loose” monetary policy stance for the current year. Some analysts expect stimulus might start to take effect this year, but it will take longer to see a significant impact.



The government is expected to reveal the official growth targets for 2025 and additional stimulus measures at the annual parliamentary meetings in March. Economists expect Beijing to keep its GDP growth target for 2025 at around 5%, if not slightly lower.

108087533-1737021407372-gettyimages-2192558603-cfoto-shanghai250110_npafS

China’s fourth-quarter GDP grows at 5.4%, beating market expectations as stimulus measures kick in

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-575868" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Family photo of leaders taken at the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia on Oct. 24, 2024.  Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



President-elect Donald Trump has pledged a 100% tariff against BRICS nations if they continue to undermine the U.S. dollar — but the threat won’t rein in the group’s expansion, analysts tell CNBC.



Most recently, Brazil announced Indonesia’s admittance into the bloc as a member last Monday.



Under outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration, Washington has been relatively dismissive of the 10-member coalition, with White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby saying during a press briefing last October that the U.S. does not view BRICS — an economic coalition of emerging markets — as a “threat.” Sentiment could change once Trump enters the White House later this month, following early indications that he may impose tariffs on alliance members if they subvert the U.S. dollar.



“A key policy shift with the incoming Trump administration is its explicit treatment of BRICS as an entity,” Mihaela Papas, director of research at the MIT Center for International Studies, told CNBC by email.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-china-will-ease-the-tariff-pain-nbsp"><a></a>China will ease the tariff pain&nbsp;</h2>



Originally established by Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2009, then joined by South Africa in 2010, the Beijing-led BRICS was set up as a force to rival Western dominance on the international stage.&nbsp;



The alliance’s 16th annual summit in Kazan saw Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates officially admitted into the group. According to Russian officials and official paper of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, more than 30 countries have expressed interest in joining the coalition in 2024. CNBC could not independently verify this estimate.



The size of the bloc makes it increasingly unlikely that the U.S. will apply punitive 100% tariffs on BRICS countries, according to Duncan Wrigley, chief China+ economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. Doing so would risk steering nations neutral in the U.S.-China rivalry toward Beijing and interfere with U.S. interests, Wrigley told CNBC by email.



The world’s second-largest economy could even step in to ease the pain of any potential U.S. trade measures against BRICS members, according to David Lubin, senior research fellow at Chatham House.



“From Beijing’s point of view, establishing China as an alternative pillar of global order is a critically important objective and it can’t be met without the support of the developing world,” Lubin said in emailed comments. “And since some 120 countries count China as their main trading partner, this shouldn’t be too difficult.”



China is already starting to do this, putting forward a zero-tariff policy for least developed countries with diplomatic ties with Beijing, which came into effect from December last year and builds on similar measures extended to the least developed African countries.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dollar-is-king-nbsp"><a></a>Dollar is king&nbsp;</h2>



Trump’s tariff threat is conditional on BRICS dethroning the U.S. dollar as the world’s most widely used trade currency — which could prove to be a tall order for the alliance.



Russia has been pushing for de-dollarization in a bid to sidestep the SWIFT network, a globally recognized standard for bank transactions, and to curtail the impact of U.S sanctions against Moscow. In the Kazan talks, Vladimir Putin reiterated the use of the dollar as a “weapon” and a “big mistake,” The Guardian reports. 



One of the group’s options to topple the dollar was to create a unified BRICS currency — a proposal spearheaded by Brazil, which has yet to gain traction.



Another possibility was setting up multi-currency trade, which is already taking place among several members: some Chinese and Russian trade is being done through the yuan and ruble. Nations have also agreed to continue to strengthen trading through local currencies and expressed support for the idea of an independent cross-border settlement infrastructure for payments.



Chatham House’s Lubin notes that the Chinese currency is “much less useable internationally than dollars,” given that financial markets are largely denominated in the greenback.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-just-a-talking-shop"><a></a>Just a ‘talking shop’</h2>



The lack of a concrete allied strategy and action from BRICS members raises doubts over whether it will be considered a threat to the U.S., with Pantheon Macroeconomics’ Wrigley saying the emerging markets alliance is currently not much more than a “talking shop.”



The bloc is still too loose and unorganized to create any substantive change, with the 2024 Kazan summit resulting in “nothing really concrete”, according to Cecilia Malmström, nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.



This might just insulate BRICS members and partner countries from a trade war with the U.S. — which has China as one of its main targets.



While Beijing holds a significant position in the group, there is still much internal caution amongst other member nations over Beijing’s dominance and potential trade imbalances, according to MIT’s Papas.&nbsp;



“Even if China seeks to leverage its position, internal caution among members is likely to remain a limiting factor,” she adds.



Many BRICS members also still maintain their friendly relations with the U.S. as a “crucial trade partner,” Gustavo Medeiros, head of research at Ashmore Group told CNBC by email.&nbsp;



“There is no reason to believe members of the bloc would be automatically at economic or geopolitical risk in the case of a trade war between the U.S. and China,” Medeiros says.

108087644-1737033990337-gettyimages-2179804474-AA_24102024_1913709

The BRICS bloc is growing — and Trump’s tariff threat isn’t expected to put off aspiring members

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-575613" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Two women sit on the sidewalk of Qiansimen Jialing River Bridge, decorated with Chinese national flags, on October 3, 2024 in Chongqing, China. National Day Golden Week is a holiday in China commemorates the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.  Cheng Xin | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — As promised government support is still to meaningfully kick in, China’s economy hasn’t yet seen the turnaround investors have been waiting for.



While policymakers have, since late September, cut interest rates and announced broad stimulus plans, details on highly anticipated fiscal support won’t likely come until an annual parliamentary meeting in March. Official GDP figures for 2024 are due Friday.



“China’s fiscal stimulus is not yet enough to address the drags on economic growth &#8230; We are cautious long term given China’s structural challenges,” BlackRock Investment Institute said in a weekly report Tuesday. The firm, which is modestly overweight Chinese stocks, indicated it was ready to buy more if the circumstances changed.



Of growing urgency in the meantime is the drop in domestic demand, and worries about deflation. Consumer prices barely rose in 2024, up by just 0.5% after excluding volatile food and energy prices. That’s the slowest rise in at least 10 years, according to records available on the Wind Information database.



“Consumer spending remains weak, foreign investment is declining, and some industries face growth pressure,” Yin Yong, Beijing city mayor, said Tuesday in an official annual report.



The capital city targets 2% consumer price inflation for 2025, and aims to bolster tech development. While nationwide economic goals won’t come out until March, senior economic and finance officials have told reporters in the last two weeks that fiscal support is in the works, and issuance of ultra-long bonds to spur consumption would exceed last year’s.



China’s announced stimulus will begin to take effect this year, but it will likely take time to see a significant impact, Mi Yang, head of research for north China at property consultancy JLL, told reporters in Beijing last week.



Pressure on the commercial property market will continue this year, and prices may accelerate their drop before recovering, he said.



Rents in Beijing for high-end offices, called Grade A, fell 16% in 2024 and are expected to drop by nearly 15% this year, with some rentals even nearing 2008 or 2009 levels, according to JLL.



New shopping centers in Beijing opened in 2024 with average occupancy rates of 72% — previously such malls would not be opened if the rate was below 75% or much closer to 100%, JLL said. Within a year, however, the new malls have seen occupancy rates reach 90%, the consultancy said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-home-appliances"><a></a>Home appliances</h2>



Unlike the U.S. during the Covid-19 pandemic, China has not handed out cash to consumers. Instead, Chinese authorities in late July announced 150 billion yuan ($20.46 billion) in ultra-long bonds for trade-in subsidies and another 150 billion yuan for equipment upgrades.



China has already issued 81 billion yuan for this year’s trade-in program, officials said this month. It covers more home appliances, electric cars and an up to 15% discount on smartphones priced at 6,000 yuan or less.



Consumers who buy premium phones tend to upgrade and recycle their devices more frequently than buyers on the lower end of the market, indicating the government may want to encourage a new group to shorten their upgrade cycle, said Rex Chen, CFO of ATRenew, which operates stores for processing smartphones and other secondhand goods.



Chen told CNBC on Monday he expects the trade-in subsidies program can boost recycling transaction volumes of eligible products on the platform by at least 10 percentage points, up from 25% growth in 2024. He also expects the government to carry out a similar trade-in policy for the next few years.



However, it’s less clear whether the trade-in program alone can lead to a sustained recovery in consumer demand.



Nomura’s Chief China Economist Ting Lu said in a report Tuesday that he expects the sales boost to fade by the second half of this year, and that tepid new home sales will limit demand for home appliances.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-real-estate"><a></a>Real estate</h2>



Real estate and related sectors such as construction once accounted for more than a quarter of China’s economy. When central authorities started cracking down on developers’ high debt levels in 2020, that had ripple effects on the economy, alongside the Covid-19 pandemic.



China shifted its stance on real estate in September following a high-level meeting led by President Xi Jinping that called for halting the sector’s decline.



Measures to prop up the sector include using a whitelist process to finish construction on the many apartments that have been sold but yet not been built due to developers’ financial constraints. New apartments in China are typically sold ahead of completion.



Jeremy Zook, lead analyst for China at Fitch Ratings, said the real estate market had yet not reached a bottom, and that authorities might provide more direct support. He pointed out that it was difficult for the economy to transition away from real estate, despite China’s wishes to reduce its reliance on the sector for growth.



The government’s latest measures have helped the broader stock market rally, and lifted sentiment slightly.



Sales of new homes in China’s largest cities over the last 30 days have surged by nearly 40% from a year ago, Goldman Sachs analysts said in a Jan. 5 report.



But they cautioned that high inventory levels in smaller cities indicate property prices “have further room to fall” and that homebuilding is “likely to remain depressed for years to come.”



In the relatively affluent city of Foshan — near Guangzhou city in southern China — housing inventory could take 20 months to clear in one district, and seven months in another district, according to a 2024 report from Beike Research Institute, a firm affiliated with a major housing sales platform in China.



The city overall saw floor space sold last year fall by 16% to the lowest in 10 years, the report said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-geopolitical-concerns"><a></a>Geopolitical concerns</h2>



Complicating China’s economic challenges are tensions with the U.S. Similar to Washington’s export controls, Beijing has also made efforts to ensure national security by prioritizing domestic players in strategic sectors such as technology.



That stance has pressured an increasing number of European businesses in China to localize — despite added costs and reduced productivity — if they are to retain customers in the country, the EU Chamber of Commerce in China said in a report last week.



Official Chinese statements have also emphasized coupling security with development.



A slogan for part of Beijing’s efforts to support growth is an effort to build “security capabilities in key areas,” pointed out Yang Ping, director of the investment research institute within the National Development and Reform Commission. She was speaking at a press event Wednesday.



This year, “boosting consumption has been prioritized ahead of improving investment efficiency,” Yang said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC. “Expanding and boosting consumption are the main focus of this year’s policy adjustment.”



She dismissed concerns that the impact of trade-in subsidies on consumption would fade after an initial spike, and indicated more details would emerge after the March parliamentary meeting.

108042998-1727981319037-gettyimages-2176462447-img_2907_uiod5ijt

China’s slowing economy is waiting for more stimulus. Here’s how the country plans to boost growth

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-575588" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People walk along Waterloo Bridge past the City of London skyline, the capital’s financial district. U.K.-focused equity funds saw record outflows in 2022. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The U.K. economy grew at a lackluster pace of 0.1% in November, data from the Office of National Statistics showed Thursday.



This compares with the 0.2% month-on-month growth expected by economists polled by Reuters.



Monthly real gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1% in October, following a decline of 0.1% in September and growth of 0.2% in August.



The ONS said the slight growth in economic output in November was largely due to growth in the services sector. While meager, the data is the first sign of life in the U.K.’s wider economy for three months.



British Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in a statement after the data Thursday that she was “determined to go further and faster to kickstart economic growth.”



“That means generating investment, driving reform and a relentless commitment to root out waste in public spending, and today I will be pressing regulators on what more they can do to deliver growth,” she said in emailed comments from the Treasury.



The ONS nevertheless said the real GDP is estimated to have shown no growth in the three months to November, compared with the three months to August.



“Services showed no growth over this three-month period, while production fell by 0.7% and construction grew by 0.2%,” the ONS said in the data release.



The British pound fell 0.2% against the dollar to trade at $1.2214 following the GDP print, which comes as the Bank of England considers whether to lower interest rates at its next meeting on Feb.6.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-next-bank-of-england-move"><a></a>Next Bank of England move</h2>



A cooler-than-expected annual inflation print for December, out Wednesday, fueled broad expectations of a 25-basis-point rate cut when the central bank meets.



Such a trim would bring the key interest rate from 4.75% to 4.5% although BOE policymakers will be factoring in inflationary pressures, such as resilient wage growth and uncertainty over Britain’s economic outlook. The central bank’s inflation target is 2%.



The Labour government and Treasury have been under pressure in recent weeks amid rising government borrowing costs and questions over their fiscal plans and a higher tax burden on businesses. Both were given something of a reprieve on Wednesday, however, when the latest inflation data showed consumer price growth had cooled more than expected to 2.5% in December,&nbsp;with core price growth slowing further.



The print came in below the expectations of economists polled by Reuters, who had anticipated the inflation rate would remain unchanged from the 2.6% reading of November.



Core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, came in at 3.2% in the twelve months to December, down from 3.5% in November.



The U.K.’s inflation rate had hit a more than three-year low of 1.7% in September, but monthly prices had accelerated since then on the back of higher fuel costs and the price of services.&nbsp;In December, the annual services inflation rate stood at 4.4%, down from 5% in November.



The U.K. economy has found itself in a tight spot of late, with economists voicing concerns over the country’s sluggish growth prospects and worries over headwinds caused by both external factors, such as potential trade tariffs once President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, along with internal fiscal and economic challenges that have dogged the Labour government and Treasury since the October budget.



Correction: This article’s headline has been updated to reflect the U.K. economy grew by 0.1% in November. A previous version had misstated the figure.

107174540-1672936825177-gettyimages-1245949857-Vuk_Valcic_City_of_London_skyline_020123_3

UK economy ekes out 0.1% growth in November, below expectations

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IOK54TH7FJKRLMOMWWYDBQD7VM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-575384"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People shop at Cherries Hypermarket in Abuja, Nigeria March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Jan 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s inflation rate rose for the fourth straight month in December, advancing to 34.80% in annual terms from 34.60% in November, data from the statistics agency showed on Wednesday.



The agency said in a report that the uptick in December was due to increased demand associated with the festive period. Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed the most to price pressures.



Inflation rose sharply after President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira currency and cut subsidies in 2023 to try to lift economic growth and shore up public finances.



It started to ease in July last year as the impact of the naira devaluation began to fade, before a series of petrol price increases again spurred inflationary pressures, exacerbating the worst cost of living crisis in decades in Africa&#8217;s most populous nation.



Food inflation was 39.84% year-on-year in December, compared with 39.93% the previous month, due to price rises for items such as yam, sweet potatoes, beer, corn, rice and fish, the National Bureau of Statistics said.



The central bank hiked interest rates six times last year to try to get inflation under control.



Nigeria&#8217;s government expects inflation to fall to 15% this year, helped by lower imports of petroleum products, Tinubu said during a budget speech in December.



(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and Mohd Shamsuddin. Editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Potter)

IOK54TH7FJKRLMOMWWYDBQD7VM

Nigerian inflation rises for fourth straight month in December

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="405" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108086316-1736874753444-gettyimages-2193324665-AFP_36TV4A9.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-575354" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108086316-1736874753444-gettyimages-2193324665-AFP_36TV4A9.jpeg 720w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108086316-1736874753444-gettyimages-2193324665-AFP_36TV4A9-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108086316-1736874753444-gettyimages-2193324665-AFP_36TV4A9-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">World Economic Forum president and CEO Borge Brende holds a press conference to present the upcoming WEF annual meeting held in Davos, in Geneva, on January 14, 2025. Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Risk specialists identified armed conflict, extreme weather and disinformation among the top global risks for the year ahead, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey released on Wednesday.



Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents in the WEF’s flagship “Global Risks Report” ranked state-based armed conflict as the most pressing concern for 2025.



Misinformation and disinformation were cited as top risks over a two-year time horizon for the&nbsp;second straight year, while environmental concerns such as&nbsp;extreme weather events,&nbsp;biodiversity loss&nbsp;and&nbsp;ecosystem collapse&nbsp;dominated the 10-year risk rankings.



Extreme weather events, which include heatwaves, tornadoes and floods, featured prominently among both short-term and long-term risks. The climate crisis is making extreme weather&nbsp;more frequent and more intense.



The report comes as close to 3,000 leaders from more than 130 countries prepare to take part in the&nbsp;WEF’s annual meeting. The four-day event kicks off in the Swiss&nbsp;mountain village of Davos on Monday.



&#8220;Rising geopolitical tensions and a fracturing of trust are driving the global risk landscape&#8221; said Mirek Dušek, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. &#8220;In this complex and dynamic context, leaders have a choice: to find ways to foster collaboration and resilience, or face compounding vulnerabilities.&#8221;



The survey considers risks over the short term to 2025, the short to medium term to 2027 and the long term through to 2035. More than 900 global risks experts, policymakers and industry leaders were surveyed in September and October last year to inform the report.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-is-in-a-dire-state"><a></a>‘World is in a dire state’</h2>



WEF said armed conflict was overlooked as a leading short-term risk two years ago, a development that reflects escalating geopolitical tensions and an increasingly fractured global landscape.



United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has previously&nbsp;warned&nbsp;that the world is facing the highest number of conflicts since World War II, citing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as well as conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.



Some of the other short-term risks identified in the WEF’s latest report include societal polarization, cyber espionage, pollution and inequality.



“It’s clear that the world is in a dire state and the global risk landscape is like a squirrel’s nest where risks are interconnected, layered on top of one another, making the business environment very, very difficult to navigate,” Carolina Klint, chief commercial officer at Marsh McLennan Europe, told CNBC’s Silvia Amaro in an interview out Wednesday.



Klint said these risks do not necessarily reflect a new emerging trend — but rather one that is “getting more and more aggressive.”



“I think we’re navigating an era now marked by increasing economic tensions,” Klint said. “And I think we have to recognize the fragmentation is not a theoretical concern. It is something that we need to confront today. So, it has resulted in a more complex and uncertain trading environment.”

108086316-1736874753444-gettyimages-2193324665-AFP_36TV4A9

Conflict, extreme weather and disinformation top global risks in 2025, Davos survey says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="473" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-820x473.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-575323" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-820x473.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-300x173.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-156x90.jpg 156w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-768x443.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-1536x886.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A train launched to operate on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and financed by Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/ABU DHABI, Jan 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya has started discussions with the United Arab Emirates to secure financing to complete a regional railway, President William Ruto said, after China cut infrastructure funding to the project.



The railway connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa with landlocked neighbours, as part of China&#8217;s Belt and Road Initiative, ended in the Rift Valley in 2019, 468 kilometres (290 miles) short of the border with Uganda, after Beijing withdrew support.



&#8220;We are exploring a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to connect Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan,&#8221; Ruto said on X late on Tuesday, after meeting UAE officials in Abu Dhabi.



Both sides will carry out a feasibility study on the extension of the railway, he said, &#8220;due to its capacity to foster regional integration and promote trade&#8221;.



Ruto&#8217;s office did not respond to Reuters&#8217; request for more details.



Ruto, who took over in September 2022, has pursued closer ties with the UAE, and Kenya is also finalising a $1.5 billion commercial loan from the UAE for budget support.



The East African nation and the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement on Tuesday, aiming to boost trade volumes by removing barriers, simplifying customs processes and promoting investments.



&#8220;Kenya is going to be a gateway for sure for East Africa,&#8221; Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE&#8217;s minister of trade, told Reuters on Tuesday.



Trade between Kenya and the UAE has more than doubled over the last decade, Ruto&#8217;s office said. The UAE is the sixth biggest export market for Kenyan goods, and its second biggest source of imports.



The value of the trade stood at 445 billion shillings ($3.44 billion) in 2023, with the UAE buying agricultural products, while Kenya gets petroleum products, machinery and chemicals.



The UAE&#8217;s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates National Oil Company were among three Gulf firms Ruto&#8217;s government picked in 2023 to supply Kenya with oil on longer credit terms, in a shift from an open tender system.



($1 = 129.2500 Kenyan shillings)



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri in Nairobi and Rachna Uppal in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

A train launched to operate on the SGR line constructed by the CRBC and financed by Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus in Nairobi

Kenya turns to the UAE for railway funds after China cut financing

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="566" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-820x566.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-575299" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-820x566.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-300x207.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-768x530.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-1536x1060.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Delivery bikes ride along a waterlogged road on the beach front, after heavy rains, in Durban, South Africa, May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Rogan Ward</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa has temporarily closed a key border crossing with Botswana due to heavy rainfall and flooding, the country&#8217;s border authority said.



The Grobler&#8217;s Bridge crossing in northern South Africa is used for trade, especially by miners in the Copperbelt region straddling Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo moving cargo to the port of Durban.



&#8220;Following consultations with our Botswana counterparts and thorough deliberation by the Port Management Committee, it has been decided that the temporary suspension of operations is necessary to prioritise safety,&#8221; the Border Management Authority said in a statement.



The agency urged travellers and truck operators to use alternative routes.



The crossing links Botswana with South Africa&#8217;s northern Limpopo province, which witnessed heavy rainfall last weekend.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning and Angus MacSwan)

Delivery bikes ride along a waterlogged road on the beach front after heavy rains, in Durban

Rains force South Africa to close border crossing with Botswana

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010-1-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-575285" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010-1-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010-1-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010-1.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



LONDON — U.K. inflation fell to a lower-than-expected 2.5% in December,&nbsp;with core price growth slowing further,&nbsp;according to data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.



The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.6% in November, with economists polled by Reuters expecting the December reading to stay unchanged.



Core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, came in at 3.2% in the twelve months to December, down from 3.5% in November.



The U.K.’s inflation rate had hit a more than three-year low of 1.7% in September, with monthly prices picking up since on the back of higher fuel costs and of services fees rising rising faster than the price of goods.&nbsp;In December, the annual services inflation rate stood at 4.4%, down from 5% in November.



The British pound was down 0.3% against the dollar at 07:15 a.m. London time, shortly after the release.



The data will be food for thought for the Bank of England ahead of its next meeting on Feb.6, at which&nbsp;the central bank is expected to cut the key interest rate from 4.75% to 4.5%, despite inflationary pressures, such as resilient wage growth and uncertainty over Britain’s economic outlook. The central bank’s inflation target is 2%.



The U.K. economy has found itself in a tight spot of late, with economists voicing concerns over the country’s sluggish growth prospects and worries over headwinds caused by both external factors, such as potential trade tariffs once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, and internal fiscal and economic challenges that have dogged the Labour government and Treasury since the October budget.



Responding the latest data, British Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Wednesday that “there is still work to be done to help families across the country with the cost of living,” and that economic growth was the U.K.’s priority.



The data&nbsp;will&nbsp;be “welcome news” for Rachel Reeves, Capital Economics’ Deputy Chief UK&nbsp;Economist Ruth Gregory commented, with underlying price pressures appearing “a bit more favourable than we had thought.”



The reading strengthened the case for a&nbsp;25-basis-point&nbsp;interest rate cut by the BOE in February, she said in emailed comments, “and lends some support to our view that rates will fall further and faster than markets expect.”



“Our forecast is that CPI inflation will rebound in January, perhaps to almost 3.0% and that inflation will be a bit higher than most expect in the first half of this year. But we expect it to drop below the 2% target next year as the persistence of inflation fades further,” she said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fiscal-challenges"><a></a>Fiscal challenges</h2>



Tax rises announced by the government last fall, which are due to come into effect in April, have caused consternation among British businesses that warn that investment, hiring and growth will be stunted.



The U.K. also saw its borrowing costs and currency weaken amid jitters over the country’s economic outlook and fiscal plans, posing a dilemma for Finance Minister Rachel Reeves’s ambitions to balance the budget.



Reeves has vowed to keep to self-imposed fiscal rules to make sure all day-to-day spending is met from revenues and that government debt is on a downward trend. She could now be forced to decide whether to tweak or break these restrictions.



The choice she faces is to do nothing and hope that unfavorable borrowing conditions subside, to hike taxes further — a move likely to elicit more criticism from businesses and the public — or to cut public spending, a step that is already mooted by the government but goes against Labour’s anti-“austerity” position. Last weekend, Reeves said the fiscal rules laid out in the budget were “non-negotiable,” adding that “economic stability is the bedrock for economic growth and prosperity.”



Ben Zaranko, associate director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said Reeves faces “a rather unenviable set of options.”



“This unfortunate predicament is largely the consequence of a difficult fiscal inheritance and global economic factors,” he said in comment.



“But it also reflects a series of government choices and mutually incompatible promises: to stick to a hard, numerical fiscal rule while leaving only the finest of margins against it; to prioritise public services and avoid imposing another round of austerity; not to raise the biggest taxes, and not to raise taxes again after the Autumn Budget; and to hold only one fiscal event per year. If higher interest rates wipe out the so called ‘headroom’, something will have to give,” Zaranko added.

107375514-1708434236970-gettyimages-1985552002-20240207_bank_of_england_010 (1)

UK inflation unexpectedly cools to 2.5%, core price print slows further

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108083800-17363625762025-01-08t185239z_2145872781_rc2u5ca99h17_rtrmadp_0_usa-court-tiktok-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-575022" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108083800-17363625762025-01-08t185239z_2145872781_rc2u5ca99h17_rtrmadp_0_usa-court-tiktok-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108083800-17363625762025-01-08t185239z_2145872781_rc2u5ca99h17_rtrmadp_0_usa-court-tiktok-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108083800-17363625762025-01-08t185239z_2145872781_rc2u5ca99h17_rtrmadp_0_usa-court-tiktok-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108083800-17363625762025-01-08t185239z_2145872781_rc2u5ca99h17_rtrmadp_0_usa-court-tiktok-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108083800-17363625762025-01-08t185239z_2145872781_rc2u5ca99h17_rtrmadp_0_usa-court-tiktok-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108083800-17363625762025-01-08t185239z_2145872781_rc2u5ca99h17_rtrmadp_0_usa-court-tiktok.jpeg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dado Ruvic | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Chinese social media app RedNote has skyrocketed to the top of Apple’s app store, underscoring concerns that TikTok will soon be effectively banned in the U.S.



RedNote, or Xiaohongshu, as it’s known in China, is the No. 1 free app on the Apple app store as of Monday, followed by TikTok’s photo-sharing Lemon8 app and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.



Many TikTok creators are rushing to find alternatives where they can continue posting videos while waiting to see what happens with TikTok, which faces a potential Jan. 19 ban in the U.S. The Supreme Court held oral arguments last week about the April law setting the stage for a ban, and seemed to side more favorably with the U.S. government’s arguments that ByteDance’s ownership of TikTok poses a national security risk.



Attorneys representing TikTok and creators argued that the law violates the free-speech protections of millions of its U.S. users.



If the Supreme Court upholds the law, third-party service providers such as Apple and Google will be penalized for supporting TikTok, thus effectively banning the app in the U.S. It’s unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, would choose to enforce the law.



Some TikTok creators are enacting contingency plans by migrating to RedNote.



One content creator, who goes by the username allieusyaps, said in a post Monday that while “it’s OK” that TikTok could be banned in the U.S., he and other TikTok creators “aren’t going back to Instagram and Facebook,” because they joined RedNote.



“Look I might not have a job in the next week, but we about to learn Mandarin baby!” the user wrote.



Another TikTok creator named Krystan Walmsley posted a short video teaching people how to set up and decorate their RedNote accounts.



“This app is so cute and it’s a lot of fun so far,” Walmsley said.



RedNote, based in Shanghai, was founded in 2013, and has increasingly challenged Alibaba and Douyin, ByteDance’s version of TikTok in China, in e-commerce and social media. It had about 300 million monthly active users as of July 2024, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.



RedNote was valued at $17 billion after raising funding in July from investors such as Boyu Capital and HongShan Capital Group, formerly Sequoia Capital’s Chinese investment arm, according to PitchBook. It’s raised over $900 million in total funding and has more than 2,000 employees, PitchBook said.



Representatives from RedNote and TikTok didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

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