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Financial Perils in Check for Now, Eyes Turn to Risk of Market Correction
Prices for stocks, corporate bonds, and other risk assets have risen higher on the news of vaccine rollouts. Financial markets have shrugged off rising COVID-19 cases, betting that continued policy support will offset…
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What 1919 Teaches Us About Pent-Up Demand
1918 should have been a great year for baseball. A young left-handed pitcher named Babe Ruth began the year by pitching an opening-day victory for the Boston Red Sox. Shortly after, Ruth lobbied…
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Bank lending rates and spreads in EMDEs: Evolution, drivers, and policies
Banks dominate credit intermediation and savings mobilization in most emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). As bank lending interest rates and the lending-deposit interest spreads capture the efficiency with which banks allocate society’s…
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Financial Highlights of SEPLAT in the first 9 months of 2020
Although revenue declined, we note that the cost of sales surged during the period. Specifically, cost of sales was N103.94 billion compared to N70.65 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. This…
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How COVID-19 will Increase Inequality in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies
Despite the pre-pandemic gains in poverty reduction and lifespans, many of the EMDEs have struggled to reduce income inequality. At the same time, they saw persistently high shares of inactive youth (i.e., not…
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China and the Burgeoning African Debt Crisis
Contrary to the swirling rumors on African social media and in the local press about the supposed imminent danger of Chinese asset seizures in Zambia, it’s not the Chinese that are the problem…
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Is a Wave of Bankruptcies Heading for the Offshore Oil Industry?
Offshore drilling major Valaris became the latest victim of the crisis this week as it filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., proposing a swap of some $6.5 billion in debt that will see…
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Tourism Trauma and COVID-19
Pandemic-related lockdowns, flight cancellations, and border closures may be putting a crimp on summer vacation plans. However, the precipitous drop in tourism will have an outsized impact on countries that rely on foreign…
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How The Pandemic Is Making The Gender Pay Gap Worse
A new study finds that this recession is hitting women harder. Between February and April 2020, male unemployment increased 9.9 percent; female unemployment increased 12.8 percent. The pandemic has ravaged in-person service jobs…
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