Africa’s Debt Crisis Has ‘Catastrophic Implications’ for the World
The New York Times
Crushing obligations to foreign creditors that have few precedents have sapped numerous African nations of growth and stoked social instability.
After a new tax increase incited weeks of deadly riots in Kenya early this summer, President William Ruto announced that he was reversing course. He abandoned the finance law he had proposed, and then he shook up his cabinet.
Last week, the government reversed itself again. The newly appointed finance minister announced that some of those discarded tax increases would be reintroduced.
The Ruto administration is desperately trying to raise revenue to pay off billions of dollars in public debt and avoid defaulting on its loans, even as critical public assistance and services are being cut.
Governments throughout Africa are facing the same dilemma.
The continent’s foreign debt reached more than $1.1 trillion at the end of last year. More than two dozen countries have excessive debt or are at high risk of it, according to the African Development Bank Group. And roughly 900 million people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health care or education.
Outsize debt has been a familiar problem in the developing world, but the current crisis is considered the worst yet because of the amounts owed as well as the huge increase in the number and type of foreign creditors.
Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have become some of the world’s largest and most profitable thanks to their location at the center of busy travel routes.
Geography and regional rivalries have prevented Gulf countries from finding a true alternative to the strait, which the war with Iran has effectively shut down.
President Trump’s son-in-law is trying to raise $5 billion or more from foreign governments and others for his private equity firm.
A methodological change contributed to a better-than-expected inflation report, prompting questions from some economists.
Beyond its effects on oil and gas, the unfolding war in the Middle East is roiling shipping and airfreight, threatening the availability of a vast range of goods.
High-energy lasers can burn drones in the sky like a blowtorch. But they can be stymied by weather, and making them at scale will be a challenge.
Countries already walloped by a breakdown of the international trading order, war in Ukraine and chaotic U.S. policymaking are facing potentially lasting economic damage.
A Washington Post appeal for information about the military qualified as prohibited “solicitation,” according to defense officials.
The technology giant’s siding with Anthropic in its fight against the Pentagon stands out in an era when big companies have tended to keep quiet.
Drivers are paying an average of 20 percent more at the pump since the strikes on Iran began. The global oil price was higher and stocks were mixed.
Whether President Trump signaled that he may soon end the military strikes is weighing on the minds of investors, executives and others.
Ms. Stockwell, who recently left The Washington Post, is the third person named to the job in the past three years.
Across Asia, where countries are highly exposed to rising oil and gas costs and tightening supply, governments are acting to mitigate economic harm.