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State-Owned Enterprises in the Time of COVID-19
By Vitor Gaspar, Paulo Medas, and John Ralyea/ Image Credit: WEF The pandemic has highlighted the role of the public sector in saving lives and livelihoods. State-owned enterprises are part of that effort. They can be public utilities that provide essential services. Or public banks that provide loans to small businesses. But some are also struggling and adding to the burden on government finances. These range from national oil companies that are dealing with a large fall in oil prices, to national airlines without enough passengers traveling. Most people encounter state-owned enterprises every day. They are likely to provide the water you drink, the electricity you use, and the bus…
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In their Numbers; Financial and Job Losses in the Aviation Sector Around the World
Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, countries have resorted to restricting movements, closing their borders as well as closing down the domestic economy (with the exception of essential services being allowed to move). Elsewhere, there was an oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, which sent the price of headline crude oil to the lowest since 2002 while the price of WTI went negative for the first time due to storage problems. A major result of the different measures was halting of the operations of global airlines, limited activities of domestic airlines, which have reduced the demand for crude oil to a very low level. The International Energy Association…
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COVID-19: Now is the Time for LASG to Lift Ban on Okada and Keke Napep
This article gives an insight into how the citizens will likely react to the ease of lockdown within the first few weeks. It also explains why the use of Okada and Keke Napep will reduce contacts once the lockdown is lifted.
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COVID-19: Can Africa Afford Lockdowns?
By Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo/ Image Credit: WeeTracker This year 2020 begins a new decade that promises to be one of dreadful disruptions, with Africa holding the weakest end of the stick. In 2008/09, the global “great recession” was triggered by financial crisis in the US (world’s largest economy). Then, much of Africa was said to be decoupled from the crisis and muddled through without severe devastation of its economies. This year, a global health pandemic that has paused the global economy and certain to rail-road it into synchronized recession (if not depression) was triggered by the second largest economy, China. Unlike before, multilateralism and global coordination framework are at…
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IMF WEO: How the World will Grow in the Great Lock Down of 2020
This article gives a brief summary of how the IMF expects the world to grow in 2020, highlight the top 10 countries to grow in 2020 (with special focus on Guyana), highlight countries that will fall the most in 2020, as well as give a special case study of selected African countries.
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Data on Top 100 Leading Fintech Cities in the World
The 2020 Global Fintech Ranking by Findexable is the first fully global fintech index covering more than 7000 fintechs in more than 230 cities across 65 countries. In partnership with 18 fintech networks and associations in different countries and continents of the world, the Findexable Global Fintech Index City Rankings ranks 7000 fintechs across 230 cities of the world. Download the data on top 100 leading financial technology cities in the World below: …
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COVID-19: The Trouble that Lies Ahead for the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC)
This article explains the trouble that lies ahead of FAAC going forward by first graphically explaining the relationship between oil prices and total monthly allocation, then examining the trend in monthly revenue sharing since 2017, compare with other months and years, as well as forecast what will happen going forward given the global pandemic as well as the price war which have led to share decline in the price of crude oil in the international market.
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The Biggest Gainers in the Coronavirus Economy
As a result of the outbreak of COVID-19, countries have restricted the movement of its citizens. In California, the residents have been advised to stay at home and only can go out when it is absolutely necessary. Italy and France have also ordered a total lock down while different countries such as the United States, Canada, Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, have ordered the travel ban on international tourists and non-citizens to prevent the pandemic from spreading. This translates to more than 2 billion citizens staying at home. As such, the following sectors/companies are gaining and still gaining from the Coronavirus Economy: Internet Service Providers- As a result of citizens staying at…
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In their Numbers: How Coronavirus is Hurting the Global Economy
The last time oil price was at a low of between $20 and $26 per barrel was in 2003. Bloomberg reports that the last time factories were shut down up to the level they are shut in the last two months, was during the Second World War. That is, biggest factory shut down since WWII hits the United States and Europe. No thanks to COVID-19, the longest bull market in the US ended on March 11 when the DOW dropped over 1,400 points in a day. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Cases in Numbers From total infection of less than 1000, coronavirus is now present in more than 112 countries of the world…
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Left Handedness: The Unsung Struggles of a Major Minority
Handedness refers to the more preferred hand of an individual, usually the better skilled hand. Society made me believe that there exist two groups: Right and Left handers. But I have been around long enough to know that this classification is nothing but a scam; at least in the part of the world where I come from. To tell the truth, there includes just one group and a bunch of ‘un-usuals’ who constitute a minority—A major minority.
Research and Analytics
