<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1858" height="1045" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-531172" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed.jpeg 1858w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-1536x864.jpeg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1858px) 100vw, 1858px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington, U.S., July 31, 2024.  Kevin Mohatt | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Federal Reserve officials head into their policy meeting Tuesday closer to their goal of low inflation, but how much they will ease back on interest rates remains an open question.



A week’s worth of inflation data showed that price pressures have eased substantially since their meteoric rise in 2021-22. One gauge of consumer prices showed 12-month inflation at its lowest since February 2021, while wholesale price measures indicated pipeline price increases are mostly under control.



Both readings were certainly enough to clear the way for an interest rate cut at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which concludes Wednesday with a rate decision and an updated forecast on where central bankers see things heading in the future.



“We got two more months of good inflation data” since the last Fed meeting, Claudia Sahm, chief economist for New Century Advisors, said in a CNBC interview Friday. “That’s what the Fed asked for.”



The question, though, turns now to how aggressively the Fed should act. Financial markets, which provide a guidepost on where the central bank is heading, were no help.



Futures markets for most of the past week had lasered in on a quarter percentage point, or 25 basis point, rate cut. However, that turned on Friday, with traders switching to an almost even chance of a either a 25- or a half point, or 50-basis point-reduction, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.



Sahm is among those who think the Fed should go bigger.



The inflation data “on its own would have gotten us 25 next week, as it should, and will get us a whole string of cuts after that,” she said. “The federal funds rate has been over 5%, has been there for over a year to fight inflation. That fight is won. They need to start getting out of the way.”



That means, Sahm said, starting off with a 50 basis-point reduction as a way to put a floor under potential labor market decay.



“The labor market [since] last July has gotten weaker,” she said. “So there’s an aspect of just recalibrating. We got some more information. [Fed officials] need to kind of clean it up, do a 50 basis point cut and then be ready to do more.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confidence-about-inflation"><a></a>Confidence about inflation</h2>



The inflation reports indicate that the battle to bring inflation back down to 2% isn’t exactly over, but things are at least moving in the right direction.



The all-items consumer price index nudged up just 0.2% in August, putting the full-year inflation rate at 2.5%. Excluding food and energy, core inflation stood at 3.2%, a good deal farther away from the Fed’s target.



However, most of the core strength has come from stubbornly high shelter costs, boosted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ byzantine “owners equivalent rent” measure that asks homeowners what they could get if they rented out their residence. The yardstick, which comprises about 27% of the total CPI weighting, rose 5.4% from a year ago.



Despite lingering pressures, consumer surveys indicate confidence that inflation has been subdued if not completely arrested. Respondents to a University of Michigan survey in September expected inflation to run at 2.7% over the next 12 months, the lowest reading since December 2020.



Taking all the various inflation dynamics into account, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in late August that his “confidence has grown” that inflation is trending back to 2%.



That leaves employment. Powell said in the same speech, delivered at the Fed’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that the Fed does “not seek or welcome further cooling in labor market conditions.”



The Fed has two jobs — stable prices and a healthy job market — and the primary mission looks about to change.



“If Powell wants to deliver on his, ‘we want no further weakening, no further cooling,’ they are going to have to, like, really move here, because that cooling trend is well established,” Sahm said. “Until it is interrupted, we are going to continue to see payrolls drift down and [the] unemployment rate drift up.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-case-for-a-quarter"><a></a>The case for a quarter</h2>



To be sure, there’s considerable sentiment for the Fed to lower by just a quarter-point at next week’s meeting, reflecting that the central bank still has more work to do on inflation, and that it is not overly worried about the labor market or a broader economic cooling.



“That’s really the key that they need to kind of hone in on, which is that they are normalizing policy and not trying to provide accommodation for an economy that is really in trouble,” said Tom Simons, U.S. economist at Jefferies. “I think they’ve done a very good job of expressing that point of view so far.”



Even with the quarter-point move, which Simons forecasts, the Fed would have plenty of room to do more later.



Indeed, market pricing anticipates rates could come down by 1.25 percentage points by the end of 2024, an indication of some sense of urgency at bringing benchmark borrowing costs down from their highest levels — currently 5.25% to 5.50% — in more than 23 years.



“The whole reason why they’ve been so cautious about cutting is because they’re concerned that inflation is going to come back,” Simons said. “Now, they have more confidence based on data that suggested [inflation] isn’t coming back right now. But they do need to be very careful to monitor potentially changing dynamics.”

108014585-17224590832024-07-31t204917z_998265604_rc2i69a6g2co_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed

The Fed has the proof it wants that inflation is slowing, but the next move is still up in the air

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-530230" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The U.S. Federal Reserve’s easing cycle will be “mild” by historical standards when it starts cutting rates at its September policy meeting, ratings agency Fitch said in a note.



In its global economic outlook report for September, Fitch forecast 25-basis-point cut each at the central bank’s September and December meeting, before it slashes rates by 125 basis points in 2025 and 75 basis points in 2026.



This will add up to a total 250 basis points of cuts in 10 moves across 25 months, Fitch noted, adding that the median cut from peak rates to bottom in previous Fed easing cycles going up to the mid-1950s was 470 basis points, with a median duration of 8 months.



“One reason we expect Fed easing to proceed at a relatively gentle pace is that there is still work to do on inflation,” the report said.



This is because CPI inflation is still above the Fed’s stated inflation target of 2%.



Fitch also pointed out that the recent decline in the core inflation — which excludes prices of food and energy — rate mostly reflected the drop in automobile prices, which may not last.



U.S. inflation in August declined to its lowest level since February 2021, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday.



The consumer price index rose 2.5% year on year in August, coming in lower than the 2.6% expected by Dow Jones and hitting its lowest rate of increase in 3½ years. On a month-on-month basis, inflation rose 0.2% from July.



Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% for the month, slightly higher than the 0.2% estimate. The 12-month core inflation rate held at 3.2%, in line with the forecast.



Fitch also noted that “The inflation challenges faced by the Fed over the past three and a half years are also likely to engender caution among FOMC members. It took far longer than anticipated to tame inflation and gaps have been revealed in central banks’ understanding of what drives inflation.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dovish-china-hawkish-japan"><a></a>Dovish China, hawkish Japan</h2>



In Asia, Fitch expects that rate cuts will continue in China, pointing out that the People’s Bank of China’s rate cut in July took market participants by surprise. The PBOC cut the 1-year MLF rate to 2.3% from 2.5% in July.



″[Expected] Fed rate cuts and the recent weakening of the US dollar has opened up some room for the PBOC to cut rates further,” the report said, adding that that deflationary pressures were becoming entrenched in China.



Fitch pointed out that “Producer prices, export prices and house prices are all falling and bond yields have been declining. Core CPI inflation has fallen to just 0.3% and we have lowered our CPI forecasts.”



It now expects China’s inflation rate to bet at 0.5% in 2024, down from 0.8% in its June outlook report.



The ratings agency forecast an additional 10 basis points of cuts in 2024, and another 20 basis points of cuts in 2025 for China.



On the other hand, Fitch noted that “The [Bank of Japan] is bucking the global trend of policy easing and hiked rates more aggressively than we had anticipated in July. This reflects its growing conviction that reflation is now firmly entrenched.”



With core inflation above the BOJ’s target for 23 straight months and companies prepared to grant “ongoing” and “sizable” wages, Fitch said that the situation was quite different from the “lost decade” in the 1990s when wages failed to grow amid persistent deflation.



This plays into the BOJ’s goal of a “virtuous wage-price cycle” — which boosts the BOJ’s confidence that it can continue to raise rates towards neutral settings.



Fitch expects the BOJ’s benchmark policy rate to reach 0.5% by the end of 2024 and 0.75% in 2025, adding “we expect the policy rate to reach 1% by end-2026, above consensus. A more hawkish BOJ could continue to have global ramifications.”

107317102-16972206592023-10-13t180751z_489645272_rc2tr3a11orj_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-powell

Federal Reserve will opt for slow policy easing as there’s ‘still work to do’ on inflation, Fitch says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="520" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/VAAETQGD25I53OKJVIONSSSY6I-820x520.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-530190" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/VAAETQGD25I53OKJVIONSSSY6I-820x520.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/VAAETQGD25I53OKJVIONSSSY6I-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/VAAETQGD25I53OKJVIONSSSY6I-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/VAAETQGD25I53OKJVIONSSSY6I-768x487.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/VAAETQGD25I53OKJVIONSSSY6I-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/VAAETQGD25I53OKJVIONSSSY6I-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A view of the logo of HSBC bank on a wall outside a branch in Mexico City, Mexico June 14, 2024. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Sept 13 (Reuters) &#8211; HSBC Holdings is in talks to sell its South African corporate banking business to a unit of FirstRand FSRJ.J, the country&#8217;s largest lender by market value, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.



A deal with Rand Merchant Bank, the corporate and investment banking division of FirstRand, has not yet been&nbsp;finalised&nbsp;and there is no guarantee the transaction will close, Bloomberg reported.



No financial details were disclosed.



HSBC and FirstRand declined to comment.



HSBC entered South Africa in 1995, and today serves mainly large companies operating on the continent.



According to an earlier Bloomberg report, African, Chinese and United Arab Emirates-based bidders are interested in HSBC&#8217;s business in South Africa.



HSBC also has an equities business in South Africa that it plans to sell, Bloomberg added on Friday.



HSBC has in recent years slashed its businesses in Western markets such as the U.S., France and Canada to redirect its focus on Asia and markets where it has scale.



(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Radhika Anilkumar; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Savio D&#8217;Souza, Jonathan Oatis and Louise Heavens)

The HSBC bank logo, in Mexico City

HSBC in talks to sell South African unit to FirstRand, Bloomberg News reports

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="528" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BDNQOZYSKNKJNLIDZUC6W7K4MY-820x528.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-530187" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BDNQOZYSKNKJNLIDZUC6W7K4MY-820x528.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BDNQOZYSKNKJNLIDZUC6W7K4MY-300x193.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BDNQOZYSKNKJNLIDZUC6W7K4MY-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BDNQOZYSKNKJNLIDZUC6W7K4MY-768x494.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BDNQOZYSKNKJNLIDZUC6W7K4MY-1536x988.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/BDNQOZYSKNKJNLIDZUC6W7K4MY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Botswana President Ian Khama looks on during the Botswana-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Pretoria, South Africa, November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



GABORONE, Sept 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Botswana&#8217;s ex-president Ian Khama appeared in court on Friday to face charges of illegally owning a gun and receiving stolen property, after returning from three years in exile ahead of an election in which his bitter rival is seeking a second term.



The magistrate suspended two arrest warrants against him on Friday for failing to turn up to answer the charges back in April 2022. Khama had been in exile, mostly in neighbouring South Africa, since late 2021.



The allegations include unlawful possession of a firearm, receiving stolen property and procuring the registration of a firearm by false pretence. The former president has denied them and says they are politically motivated.



Khama, whose father Seretse Khama was Botswana&#8217;s founding president, quit the ruling Botswana Democratic Party in 2019 after falling out with his successor President Mokgweetsi Masisi.



Khama backs the opposition Botswana Patriotic Front and had previously said he would return to Botswana to help oust the incumbent in a national election on Oct. 30.



He will next appear in court on Sept. 23, magistrate Mareledi Dipate said.



(Reporting by Brian Benza; Editing by Tim Cocks and Alison Williams)

Botswana President Ian Khama looks on during the Botswana-South Africa Bi-National Commission (BNC) in Pretoria

Botswana’s exiled ex-leader Khama returns home, court suspends warrants

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WPXJD4O4SJIPDIGFXZH6UFCJQM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-530184" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WPXJD4O4SJIPDIGFXZH6UFCJQM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WPXJD4O4SJIPDIGFXZH6UFCJQM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WPXJD4O4SJIPDIGFXZH6UFCJQM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WPXJD4O4SJIPDIGFXZH6UFCJQM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WPXJD4O4SJIPDIGFXZH6UFCJQM-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WPXJD4O4SJIPDIGFXZH6UFCJQM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South Africa&#8217;s President Cyril Ramaphosa holds up the signed Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, which aims to strengthen governance in the education sector, surrounded by Premier of Gauteng Andrek Panyaza Lesufi, Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Makgabo Reginah Mhaule and provincial education leadership at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, September 13, 2024. REUTERS/Alet Pretorius</figcaption></figure>



PRETORIA, Sept 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s president signed contentious education legislation into law on Friday, angering his party&#8217;s main coalition partner amid a debate centred on the integration of schools that teach in Afrikaans.



Part of the bill&nbsp;gives the education department the power to approve school boards&#8217;&nbsp;language policies, which President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s African National Congress (ANC) says&nbsp;will help prevent&nbsp;discrimination.



The ANC says that students are being excluded from some schools because of the language they speak, which it says has been used as a proxy for racial exclusion.&nbsp;Afrikaans was promoted by South Africa&#8217;s white minority rulers under apartheid.



&#8220;The signing of this bill marks an important step towards resolving longstanding challenges in our education system,&#8221; Ramaphosa said at the signing ceremony at the Union Buildings, the seat of government in capital Pretoria.



Coalition partner the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has struggled to shake an image as a party of the white minority, has defended single-language schools, saying it is important for children to be taught in their mother tongue.



Shortly before the signing, it promised to fight the legislation in the courts. Earlier this week it said the bill went against the principle of consensus-building of the government of national unity and threatened the coalition.



&#8220;Primarily it&#8217;s about the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction, which is seen as an attempt to exclude people that are not able to speak Afrikaans,&#8221; Andre Duvenhage, a politics professor at North-West University, told Reuters.



&#8220;In a way the &#8230; legislation is an attempt at opening up these schools for all people,&#8221; he told Reuters.



The Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill also makes one year of pre-primary school mandatory, reinforces a ban on corporal punishment in schools and regulates home-schooling.



Ramaphosa said he would allow for three months of consultation on the most controversial sections of the bill and if a solution was not reached then implementation would go ahead.&nbsp;The DA said it would pursue its court challenge.



(Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Additional Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

South Africa’s President Ramaphosa signs into law the Basic Education Laws Amendment

South Africa’s president signs contentious education bill, testing coalition

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/QYHOX6JU6ZP33IVMKVBRYCGM7Q-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-426578" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/QYHOX6JU6ZP33IVMKVBRYCGM7Q-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/QYHOX6JU6ZP33IVMKVBRYCGM7Q-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/QYHOX6JU6ZP33IVMKVBRYCGM7Q-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/QYHOX6JU6ZP33IVMKVBRYCGM7Q-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/QYHOX6JU6ZP33IVMKVBRYCGM7Q-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/QYHOX6JU6ZP33IVMKVBRYCGM7Q-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The offices of Fitch Ratings building appears empty in Canary Wharf, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), London, Britain, May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Sept 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s National Treasury said on Friday its plan to reduce expenditure and raise revenue, while implementing critical reforms, was in progress after credit rating agency Fitch affirmed its debt rating at &#8220;BB-&#8221; with a stable outlook.



Fitch said that key drivers affecting its decision to keep South Africa below investment grade include the country&#8217;s high debt-to-GDP ratio, low growth and high levels of inequality.



The ratings agency said that the formation of a government of national unity (GNU) after the May. 29 general elections lowers short term uncertainty and that the reform programme could contribute to modestly increasing real GDP growth.



Fitch acknowledged the marked improvement in power utility Eskom&#8217;s performance this year, but highlighted that ongoing challenges at state logistics group Transnet continue to constrain growth.



South Africa&#8217;s National Treasury said in response that the government would continue to implement &#8216;Operation Vulindlela&#8217;, a programme aimed at accelerating reforms in network industries.



&#8220;Extensive reforms in energy, freight, water, and telecommunications are also in progress,&#8221; it said in a statement.



The Treasury also said that fiscal consolidation efforts would continue and further steps to reduce borrowing over the medium term were being taken.



(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London

South Africa says reform agenda in progress after Fitch affirms ratings

Commerzbank shares up after UniCredit buys stake

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-530148" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Colorized transmission electron micrograph of mpox virus particles captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, Sept 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is able to raise $600 million to fight a surging mpox outbreak on the continent, the agency&#8217;s head said on Thursday.



The World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency in mid-August, after a new strain began spreading from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.



&#8220;If you want to know if I&#8217;m positive that we can raise the $600 million, I will safely say yes,&#8221; Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa CDC, told reporters.



In August, the agency put the estimated cost of the mpox response at $245 million and said that it had secured only about $20 million. Kaseya did not say why the cost, which excludes the cost of vaccines, had increased.



Kaseya said funding could come from African Union countries, development partners, philanthropies and the private sector.



He said that international vaccine alliance GAVI had pledged assistance and Africa CDC was in discussions with The Pandemic Fund, a multilateral organisation that funds pandemic response.



Kaseya said that a transfer of technology to the continent would reduce the price of vaccines by 80%-90%.



Africa CDC said last month that talks had started with Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic BAVA.CO to manufacture its mpox vaccine in Africa, which Kaseya said would help make the vaccine affordable for African countries.



Kaseya will announce the amount raised at the U.N. General Assembly in New York this month.



Africa has seen over 26,000 suspected mpox cases including 724 deaths so far this year, Africa CDC data showed.



In Democratic Republic of Congo, children under 15 years account for about 60% of suspected cases and 80% of deaths this year, UNICEF said in a statement on Thursday.



(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

5R2BE5PG4RMMTDUCOPH2YZFV5Q

Africa CDC confident it can raise $600 million for mpox response

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1604532787-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-506008" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1604532787-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1604532787-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1604532787-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1604532787-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1604532787-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1604532787-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ugandan shilling and US dollars in the draw at a foreign exchange currency bureau in Kampala, Uganda, on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. Uganda&#8217;s central bank said it stands ready to act if the World Bank&#8217;s decision to halt new funding over the country&#8217;s passage of anti-LGBTQ legislation impacts the currency further. Photographer: Luke Dray/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



KAMPALA, Sept 13 (Reuters) &#8211; The Ugandan shilling was broadly stable on Friday with a slight bias on the stronger side, driven by scant appetite for hard currency, traders said.



At 0923 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,710/3,720, little-changed from Thursday&#8217;s close of 3,712/3,722.



(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Aaron Ross)

Ugandan Economy Following Rate Cut

Ugandan shilling stable on scant hard currency demand

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="425" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-498541" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24.jpg 720w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24-300x177.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24-152x90.jpg 152w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kenya shilling coins and notes are pictured inside a cashier&#8217;s booth at a forex exchange bureau in Kenya&#8217;s capital Nairobi, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Sept 13 (Reuters) &#8211; The Kenyan shilling edged lower against the dollar on Friday, according to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), though it remained within a stable range seen over the past month.



LSEG data, as of 0854 GMT on Friday, showed the Kenyan shilling trading at 128.50/129.50 to the dollar, a slight dip from Thursday&#8217;s closing rate of 128.30/129.30.



Traders forecast the shilling to remain stabile in the upcoming week, following its strong rally earlier this year. The rally was attributed to easing concerns over a potential default by the East African nation on a $2 billion Eurobond due in June.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Bate Felix)

ANCK25OQIFMHTJYACOM5XU5T24

Kenyan shilling inches lower versus dollar, LSEG data shows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="549" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-820x549.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-425202" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-820x549.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-1536x1028.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/7E5H4JHT7JIDHHBALK7PSZDXSI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South African Rand coins are seen in this photo illustration . REUTERS/Mike Hutchings</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Sept 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The South African rand was little changed in early trade on Friday, as markets weighed up bets on the size of a rate cut expected in the world&#8217;s biggest economy next week.



At 0804 GMT, the rand traded at 17.7550 against the dollar, near its Thursday closing level of 17.7625.



The dollar last traded softer against a basket of peers, as investors remained on tenterhooks ahead of next week&#8217;s Federal Reserve meeting.



While markets are certain the Fed will cut rates, uncertainty around whether it will go with a 25-basis-point or 50-basis-point cut remains.



On Friday, the rand will likely track developments in the lead up to the meeting. The risk-sensitive local unit often takes direction from global drivers like U.S. monetary policy in the absence of major local data points.



Next week, local investors will focus on August consumer inflation figures on Sept. 18 and the South African Reserve Bank&#8217;s (SARB) interest rate announcement on Sept. 19. Economists polled by Reuters predict the SARB will announce a 25 basis point rate cut.



On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index was up about 0.3% in early trade.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond also firmed in early deals, as the yield slipped 3 basis points to 8.97%.



(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

South African Rand coins are seen in this photo illustration

South African rand flat; markets focus on Fed rate cut next week

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/F4TO3YKQWNK6NCNXZJUQ2UEGC4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423316" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/F4TO3YKQWNK6NCNXZJUQ2UEGC4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/F4TO3YKQWNK6NCNXZJUQ2UEGC4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/F4TO3YKQWNK6NCNXZJUQ2UEGC4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/F4TO3YKQWNK6NCNXZJUQ2UEGC4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/F4TO3YKQWNK6NCNXZJUQ2UEGC4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/F4TO3YKQWNK6NCNXZJUQ2UEGC4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A man walks past the International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo at its headquarters in Washington, U.S., May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Sept 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A team of staff from the International Monetary Fund is visiting Kenya on a fact-finding trip, the IMF said late on Thursday, part of efforts to craft a way forward in the wake of deadly protests that scuppered the government&#8217;s planned tax hikes.



President William Ruto abandoned this year&#8217;s finance bill in June, leaving the heavily indebted government with a bigger budget deficit for this financial year, mounting unpaid bills, and a delay in disbursement of IMF funding.



&#8220;This is a fact-finding mission and is part of our ongoing and constructive dialogue with the Kenyan authorities to find a balanced path forward,&#8221; Julie Kozack, the head of communications for the IMF, told a news briefing.



She did not provide more details, saying further updates will be given when the team completes its mission.



Kenya agreed a four-year loan with the IMF in 2021, and signed up for additional lending to support climate change measures in May 2023, taking its total IMF loan access to $3.6 billion.



The IMF requires regular reviews of reforms &#8211; in Kenya&#8217;s case every six months &#8211; before it releases tranches of funding.



Kenya reached a staff level agreement with the IMF in June on the seventh review of its programme, but the protest and ensuing withdrawal of the finance bill put a sign-off by the fund&#8217;s executive board, and subsequent payout, on hold.



Kenyan government officials have previously said they expect the IMF board to consider approving the disbursement of a $600 million tranche later this month, but no date has been set for a meeting to discuss this.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Karin Strohecker and Christina Fincher)

FILE PHOTO: Man walks past the IMF logo at HQ in Washington

IMF staff in Kenya for fact-finding mission after protests

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/O5OSHLQ2ENJABK4UIKWVT7ANBU-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-530080" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/O5OSHLQ2ENJABK4UIKWVT7ANBU-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/O5OSHLQ2ENJABK4UIKWVT7ANBU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/O5OSHLQ2ENJABK4UIKWVT7ANBU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/O5OSHLQ2ENJABK4UIKWVT7ANBU-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/O5OSHLQ2ENJABK4UIKWVT7ANBU-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/O5OSHLQ2ENJABK4UIKWVT7ANBU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The logo of British multinational oil and gas company Shell is displayed during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Sept 13 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian communities are claiming 505 billion naira ($310 million) in damages from Shell, which they accuse of breaching an existing court order by striking a deal to sell its onshore assets in the Niger Delta, court papers showed on Friday.



Shell is set to exit Nigeria&#8217;s onshore oil and gas sector after agreeing in January to sell its business to a consortium of five mostly local companies for $2.4 billion.



But more than 1,200 representatives of Ilaje communities in the Niger Delta asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the deal, arguing that Shell was violating a December 2023 ruling that suspended any assets sale until a compensation lawsuit was concluded.



The community has a pending lawsuit against Shell, which it accuses of causing an oil spill that damaged waterways and farms.



Shell has long maintained that such spills were mostly due to theft of oil and interference with pipelines.



In the court papers, the community said Shell should be penalised for going ahead with asset sale &#8220;when the plaintiffs and the host of their community members have remained in perpetual suffering over the failure of the defendants to obey the preservative orders of a competent court.&#8221;



Shell did not immediately comment.



It was not immediately clear when the court would hear the case.



The oil major has faced a string of lawsuits locally and abroad from communities demanding environmental restoration or compensation for land damaged by historical oil spills.



Shell&#8217;s asset sale is yet to be approved by the energy regulator and the petroleum minister.



($1 = 1,630.0000 naira)



(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Editing by Mark Potter)

FILE PHOTO: LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver

Nigerian communities seek $310 mln from Shell, want asset sale stopped

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="408" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/istockphoto-1076949610-612x612-1-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-524600" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/istockphoto-1076949610-612x612-1-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/istockphoto-1076949610-612x612-1-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/istockphoto-1076949610-612x612-1-1-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Sept 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The following political and economic events, company announcements, equity and currency market moves may affect South African markets on Friday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-political-events">POLITICAL EVENTS</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s President Cyril Ramaphosa will sign a contested education bill into law.



Ramaphosa will engage with the media on the Seventh Administration and the government of national unity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-economic-events">ECONOMIC EVENTS</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s government will hold its weekly auction of inflation-linked bonds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-companies">COMPANIES</h2>



Retailer Mr Price will host a capital markets day.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-african-markets">SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s rand inched higher against a weaker dollar on Thursday, with the next big local drivers &#8211; inflation data and an interest rate decision &#8211; due next week.



On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index closed up more than 1.1%. South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond was little moved, the yield at 9%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-markets">GLOBAL MARKETS</h2>



The dollar slumped to its lowest this year on Friday versus the yen while gold hit a record high as investors ratcheted up bets for a super-sized Federal Reserve interest rate cut next week.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-wall-street">WALL STREET</h2>



Wall Street&#8217;s main indexes closed higher on Thursday after the latest inflation data reinforced expectations for a 25-basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve, while Moderna&#8217;s weak revenue forecast made it the S&amp;P 500&#8217;s biggest percentage loser.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gold">GOLD</h2>



Gold prices soared to an all-time high on Friday as the dollar weakened amid the prospect of a reduction in U.S. interest rates, while palladium has gained 15% so far this week.



&#8211; &#8211; &#8211; &#8211;



Some of the main stories out in the South African press:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-business-day">BUSINESS DAY</h2>



&#8211; Pravin Gordhan, former minister and struggle veteran, has died



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fin-24">FIN 24</h2>



&#8211; FirstRand opts for caution as it pencils in only three rate cuts for SA



&#8211; Radioactive waste, small reactors and geopolitics will shape SA&#8217;s nuclear plans



(Compiled by Tannur Anders; Editing by Mark Potter)

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Africa CDC confident it can raise $600 million for mpox response

Ugandan shilling stable on scant hard currency demand

Kenyan shilling inches lower versus dollar, LSEG data shows

South African rand flat; markets focus on Fed rate cut next week

IMF staff in Kenya for fact-finding mission after protests

Nigerian communities seek $310 mln from Shell, want asset sale stopped

South African Markets – Factors to watch on Sept 13

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The Fed has the proof it wants that inflation is slowing, but the next move is still up in the air

Why ChatGPT Creator OpenAI Is Having A Make Or Break Moment

At what age should kids be allowed smartphones? The debate is raging

Why Americans Are Going Back to Chili’s

Federal Reserve will opt for slow policy easing as there’s ‘still work to do’ on inflation, Fitch says

HSBC in talks to sell South African unit to FirstRand, Bloomberg News reports

Botswana’s exiled ex-leader Khama returns home, court suspends warrants

South Africa’s president signs contentious education bill, testing coalition

South Africa says reform agenda in progress after Fitch affirms ratings

Commerzbank shares up after UniCredit buys stake

Africa CDC confident it can raise $600 million for mpox response

Ugandan shilling stable on scant hard currency demand

Kenyan shilling inches lower versus dollar, LSEG data shows

South African rand flat; markets focus on Fed rate cut next week

IMF staff in Kenya for fact-finding mission after protests

Nigerian communities seek $310 mln from Shell, want asset sale stopped

South African Markets – Factors to watch on Sept 13

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