Economy & Markets

Norwegian offshore services company DOF Group has secured a subsea installation contract in Africa valued at between $15 million and $25 million, strengthening its order backlog ahead of an offshore campaign scheduled for early 2027. The company announced the award on Thursday, October 22, saying the work would be carried out by its construction support

French government borrowing costs rose sharply on Wednesday, October 21, as investors assessed the impact of widespread protests, political uncertainty, and the government’s struggle to strengthen public finances. The yield on France’s benchmark 10-year government bond reached 5% for the first time since July 2002, according to “Reuters” Bond yields represent the return investors demand

Asian shares mostly fell on Tuesday, October 20, following a mixed session on Wall Street, where gains in artificial-intelligence-related stocks were not matched by the broader market. According to “The Associated Press” ,Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.6% to 64,512.35 in early trading, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.8% to 8,772.10. South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.8% to

China’s economy grew by 4.5% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, exceeding economists expectations as strong exports and industrial production helped offset weak domestic demand. Figures released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, 19 October showed that growth accelerated from 4.3% in the second quarter. The result also

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upgraded its economic growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa, pointing to resilience across the region despite continuing pressure from rising prices, borrowing costs, and declining development assistance. Speaking during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday, 15 October 2026, IMF African Department Director Zeine Zeidane said

Uganda’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 56% in the year to June 2026, reaching approximately $6.7 billion, as the Bank of Uganda outlined plans to continue buying domestically produced gold to diversify its reserve assets. According to Reuters the reserves rose from about $4.3 billion a year earlier. The figures were released by the central bank

Spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is helping global growth stay near 3 per cent despite high energy costs, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday, 12 October. Speaking at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, she said Asian economies that supply AI hardware were among those benefiting,

The Africa Credit Rating Agency is scheduled for its official launch in Port Louis, Mauritius, on Wednesday, 7 October, with a mandate to provide additional assessments of African governments, companies and financial institutions. Known as AfCRA, the agency aims to bring greater local knowledge and wider coverage to a market dominated internationally by Moody’s, S&P

The Reserve Bank of India has raised its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%, marking its first interest rate increase since February 2023. The decision, announced on Wednesday, 7 October, increases the rate from 5.25%. A rise of 25 basis points means an increase of 0.25 percentage points. Moneycontrol reports⁠ that the move