Naira boom: Nigeria’s naira could extend gains that have already made it the best-performing currency in the world this month, said a Goldman Sachs economist — provided policymakers stay on track. https://bloom.bg/3VQymsV
Failed promise: A $475 million light-rail system serving Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa shows how some China-funded infrastructure investments across the continent are now suffering from neglect. https://bloom.bg/3TUzj0O
Zuma candidacy: South Africa’s electoral commission asked the Constitutional Court to provide clarity on a ruling this week that allows former President Jacob Zuma to run for parliament in upcoming elections. https://bloom.bg/3WewpXB
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter on where sub-Saharan Africa stands now — and where it’s headed at https://bloom.bg/3OsOf3y. Next Africa publishes every Tuesday and Friday.
Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management announced it holds a stake in Silicon Valley artificial intelligence darling OpenAI, a bet that the nascent AI industry will remake the tech landscape. More here: https://bloom.bg/3VRmWFn
📷: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Declining support: Backing for South Africa’s ruling ANC plunges as former President Jacob Zuma's party gains, a new opinion poll shows. https://bloom.bg/4aSpvLH
Cedi woes: Ghana’s inflation rate climbed to a four-month high in March as a slump in the currency pushed up the cost of imports such as fuel and food. https://bloom.bg/43Rl9Ca
Funding startups: Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and former Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt's foundation are taking part in a funding round for an African solar irrigation startup. https://bloom.bg/3JgkkcB
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
New money: ZiG, Zimbabwe’s new currency, began trading on Monday as businesses struggled with the nation’s sixth attempt at introducing a revamped unit. https://bloom.bg/3xzWqGc
Billion dollar deals: Vivendi's Canal+ has made an all-cash formal offer for MultiChoice, valuing the broadcaster at $2.9 billion. https://bloom.bg/49usQ2r
Corruption charges: Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele pleads not guilty to new allegations of foreign-currency infractions brought against him by one of the country’s finance watchdogs. https://bloom.bg/43QgsZe
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
Apple laid off more than 600 employees in California as part of the decisions to end its car and smartwatch display projects, according to filings.
At least 87 of the people worked at an address corresponding to a secret Apple facility for its next-generation screen development. More here: https://bloom.bg/3TOyh6s
📷: Haiyun Jiang/Bloomberg
Succession planning is kicking into high gear in India. Here are the 16 next-gen heirs preparing to lead some of India’s biggest businesses — including those belonging to the Ambani and Adani families https://bloom.bg/3TNKlF1
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LIVE: Tsunami alerts are in force in Taiwan and Japan after a strong earthquake. Follow our free-to-read blog for the latest news and updates https://bloom.bg/3PMegfn
📷: TVBS/AP Photo
Several workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in an airstrike by the Israeli military in Gaza, the disaster relief group founded by celebrity chef José Andrés said. More here: https://bloom.bg/3J3TGU0
📷: AFP via Getty Images
Political partnerships: South Africa’s Democratic Alliance will resist forming a coalition with the ruling African National Congress in order to govern the country should it need to. https://bloom.bg/3vC3PnO
Majority win: Senegal’s opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye is officially confirmed as the winner of Sunday’s presidential elections, beating the ruling coalition’s candidate by an overwhelming margin. https://bloom.bg/3TvCiwm
Dirty air: South Africa is home to many of the world’s worst emission sites for toxic nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide and most of those are operated by the nation’s state power utility, according to Greenpeace. https://bloom.bg/3TAw7aq
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
A growing army of underwater robots is helping the shipping industry clean up its act. They’re on a mission to help decarbonize an industry responsible for nearly 1 billion tons of CO2 emissions each year.
Watch how the robots scrape off the algae, seaweed and barnacles that accumulate on ships to improve fuel-efficiency. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/4acGMiA
Senegal votes: After a tumultuous buildup, Senegalese people will elect a new leader on Sunday to oversee one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a nascent oil and gas producer. https://bloom.bg/3TKViZc
Step aside: South Africa’s speaker of parliament is taking “special leave” after her house was raided this week as part of a corruption investigation. https://bloom.bg/43rgN4v
New leader: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni named his son, who says he wants to be the nation’s next leader, as chief of the defense forces. https://bloom.bg/4cuDPvw
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter on where sub Saharan Africa stands now — and where it’s headed at https://bloom.bg/3OsOf3y. Next Africa publishes every Tuesday and Friday.
Gold standard: Zimbabwe, the poster child of hyperinflation, is allowing a free fall in its currency that it’s no longer keen to defend and is instead working on a new exchange rate potentially backed by gold. https://bloom.bg/4akxAs3
Industry slump ends: Ghana's economy expanded at the fastest pace in a year as the industry sector ended four quarters of decline. https://bloom.bg/3TsBzMw
Rates signal: South Africa’s inflation rate climbed to a four-month high, likely cementing the central bank’s resolve to keep borrowing costs on hold when it meets next week. https://bloom.bg/3VrNOvs
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
The US is considering blacklisting a number of Chinese chip firms linked to Huawei after it notched a significant tech breakthrough last year.
Most of the Chinese entities that could be affected were previously identified as chipmaking facilities acquired or being built by Huawei, in a presentation by the Washington-based trade group Semiconductor Industry Association.
Such a move would mark another escalation in a US campaign to ringfence and curtail Beijing’s AI and semiconductor ambitions. It would also ratchet up the pressure on a Chinese national champion that’s made advances despite existing sanctions. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/4cqoFr8
📷: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Nvidia just announced its newest AI processor chip, but companies in India are still waiting to get their hands on its predecessor known as Hopper.
One unknown startup has managed to secure an order of about 20,000 of the sought-after chips.
Bloomberg's Saritha Rai spoke to the CEO about his vision for India's AI future: https://bloom.bg/3VoUgmF
BREAKING: Japan exits the world’s last negative-rate regime, ending the most aggressive monetary easing in modern history.
Follow our free live blog https://bloom.bg/4ckY922
Ambitious Indian finance professionals have never had it so good. While their international compatriots are facing job cuts and curtailed bonuses, for them it's boomtime — and there are eye-popping salaries on offer for the best-of-the-best.
Read here: https://bloom.bg/3vWUpn1
📷: IMC Trading
Election hopes: Julius Malema, leader of South Africa’s leftist EFF, says he can offer investors something the country’s current rulers lack: clarity, consistency and transparency. https://bloom.bg/4atxlv7
Cocoa surge: With global prices for the commodity hitting $10,000 a ton, there's a rush to plant more trees in West Africa. https://bloom.bg/3vYDUXA
New listings: WeBuyCars gained on its trading debut on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, marking the start of a potential revival in capital market activity after a years-long lull. https://bloom.bg/4cTZJZe
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter on where sub-Saharan Africa stands now — and where it’s headed at https://bloom.bg/3OsOf3y. Next Africa publishes every Tuesday and Friday.
Money rally: Zimbabwe’s ZiG strengthens a day after its debut, even as it disrupts commerce nationwide with banks, retailers and utilities battling to switch to the new unit. https://bloom.bg/3VSPbn8
Project funding: Guinea says shareholders involved in Simandou, the biggest untapped iron-ore reserve globally, have signed $15 billion in financing agreements for the project. https://bloom.bg/3xDhsDR
Jail time: Nigeria sends a Binance executive charged with tax evasion and fraud to prison ahead of trial in May. https://bloom.bg/3PTuT9b
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
New currency: Zimbabwe replaces its battered dollar with a new gold-backed currency called ZiG. https://bloom.bg/3POzzx3
Energy solutions: South Africa picks a $300-million standalone battery project to boost energy supply. https://bloom.bg/3TO5HBV
Power play: Microsoft's Azure cloud business is set to be hit by a formal complaint from South African antitrust watchdogs. https://bloom.bg/3U8SS6Y
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
Investment opportunities: BlackRock sees an opportunity to invest in Kenyan stocks, which have gone from the world’s worst performers in 2023 to the best this year. https://bloom.bg/4aonAi6
Wildlife threatened: A third of Africa’s gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees are at risk because they live in areas that overlap with mining operations for metals critical to the global clean energy transition. https://bloom.bg/3xwDV5t
Surviving summer: Egypt is buying liquefied natural gas, a rare move by the fuel exporter to avoid shortages this summer. https://bloom.bg/3xnUpNm
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
Human rights: Uganda’s Constitutional Court rejected a bid to overturn stringent anti-LGBTQ legislation that led the World Bank to suspend funding. https://bloom.bg/4am2Ze8
Money woes: Zimbabwe’s currency plunges to another record low as citizens rush to the safety of the US dollar ahead of an expected announcement on the fate of the local unit. https://bloom.bg/3U3JEJ8
Africa's largest refinery: Nigeria’s new mega-refinery will begin domestic gasoline deliveries in May, weaning Africa’s most populous country of costly petroleum imports. https://bloom.bg/3xlzmv3
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
Woman leader: President Felix Tshisekedi appoints Judith Tuluka Suminwa as the next prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first female to hold the role in the world’s second-biggest copper producer. https://bloom.bg/3TFjevS
Corruption arrests: South African Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula lost a court bid to prevent the authorities from detaining her over allegations of corruption, and now faces arrest. https://bloom.bg/4aeKjNx
Egyptian presidency: Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi was sworn in for a third term as expectations build for a change of course after a $50 billion international bailout warded off the worst economic crisis in decades. https://bloom.bg/4aH3pM5
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
NEW: FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison for stealing billions of dollars from customers, marking the final chapter in a case that has both captivated and overshadowed the crypto industry. Read more here: https://trib.al/zBBhwdP
Follow the Bloomberg Crypto Telegram channel: /channel/bloombergcrypto
📷: Getty Images
Repo rate decision: South Africa’s central bank leaves borrowing costs unchanged at a 15-year high at its final rate-setting meeting before elections in May. https://bloom.bg/4ad32Ja
Inflation woes: Zimbabwean annual inflation surges to a seven-month high, days after the finance minister pledged to address price increases that are being fueled by the nation's plunging currency. https://bloom.bg/3TsfLjS
Political rivalries: South Africa’s ANC sees the rival Inkatha Freedom Party as a bigger electoral threat, and is dismissing former President Jacob Zuma’s new organization as “a nuisance.” https://bloom.bg/4aaBSCK
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
Narendra Modi's BJP took the lion’s share of over $720 million from a now-banned electoral bonds scheme, but who were the biggest donors?
Read what the numbers reveal about funding for India’s political parties: https://bloom.bg/3Vv9BCg
Rural India, home to most of the country’s population, has been instrumental to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s rise over the last decade.
But while India remains the fastest-growing major economy — a place where Apple is making more of its iPhones and global investors are parking money once bound for China — outside of its metropolises, investment is still weak, infrastructure remains spotty and economic prospects for its citizens are far less rosy.
If Prime Minister Narendra Modi earns a third term in office, as polls suggest he will, it will be in spite of the state of the rural and farming economy — not because of it. Here's why: https://bloom.bg/3IK8Rll
📷: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg
Sam Bankman-Fried said US prosecutors’ proposal to put him in prison for as long as 50 years "distorts reality" and paints him as a "depraved super-villain."
Prosecutors have argued that a sentence ranging from 40 to 50 years is necessary for the FTX co-founder’s "historic" crime involving more than 1 million victims and losses of more than $10 billion in the collapse of his crypto empire. Read more here: https://bloom.bg/3x1Reeh
📷: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg
Nigeria rates: Nigerian central bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso last month voted for an even larger interest rate increase than what was announced, confirming him as one of the most hawkish members of its monetary policy committee. https://bloom.bg/4aiVfct
Anti-LGBTQ law: Uganda’s harsh law outlawing homosexuality is undermining foreign direct investment and tourism inflows, hurting attempts by authorities to meet objectives under an International Monetary Fund program, the lender warns. https://bloom.bg/3INzmGg
Africa's metals: US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo used a five-day trip to South Africa to advertise America's ambitions to secure metals in Africa for the global energy transition. https://bloom.bg/3Tqox29
Sign up for our twice-weekly newsletter on where sub-Saharan Africa stands now — and where it’s headed at https://bloom.bg/3OsOf3y. Next Africa publishes every Tuesday and Friday.
The safety of intermittent fasting, a popular strategy to lose weight by limiting food intake to certain times, was called into question by a surprise finding from research presented at a medical meeting.
Limiting mealtimes to a period of just eight hours a day was linked to a 91% increase in risk of death from heart disease in the study.
The American Heart Association published only an abstract, leaving scientists speculating about details of the study protocol. The study was reviewed by other experts prior to its release, according to the AHA. Read more: https://bloom.bg/4cj9zn4
📷: Moment RF/Getty Images
US Treasury bullish: Cooperation between the government and business is boosting South Africa’s prospects, despite the myriad challenges the economy faces, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. https://bloom.bg/3IEWpD8
Hot cocoa: Cocoa futures have doubled in less than three months as their landmark surge intensifies, boosting costs for consumers and sending chocolate makers scouring for supply. https://bloom.bg/3IEXo6i
Tough times ahead: The worst may not be over for Ghana’s cedi, Africa’s third-worst performing currency this year. https://bloom.bg/3TGX9ye
Watch Africa Amplified for a deep dive into the region’s biggest stories: https://bloom.bg/3u0S3Cz
