African Union Wants Invite to Rich Kids’ Party

Senegal's President and African Union (AU) Chair Macky Sall said he has asked for the AU to receive a seat at the G-20, a group of twenty governments that has met regularly since 1999 to negotiate economic matters. Sall announced the request on the final day of the AU’s mid-year meeting, held last week in Lusaka, Zambia. He remarked that the request seeks to “better support the interests of our countries .” He also said he has begun to rally support for the idea.

At present, South Africa is the only African nation with G-20 membership, even though Nigeria is the continent's largest economy and Egypt often outranks South Africa as the second-largest. The continent also includes such emerging economies as Ethiopia, Morocco, Rwanda and Tunisia, the last of which has Africa’s strongest currency.

“Although the G-20 members consist of countries, the EU itself is a member. Based on that, I do not see any reason why the African Union cannot be considered part of the G-20,” said South African economist Dawie Roodt to OZY.

If allowed to join, the African Union would bring to the negotiating table a combined $2.9 trillion GDP, estimated to reach $4 trillion by 2026. Technology, human resources and oil and gas are among the primary drivers of African growth.

Market experts say that risks to long-term economic growth in the U.S. include a shortage of workers and the prospect of pandemics deadlier than COVID-19. “More workers, more GDP,” said Columbia University professor and former Goldman Sachs strategist Abby Joseph Cohen, who added, “If we’re not viewed as welcoming to talent from around the world, we’ll have a problem going forward in terms of long-term growth.” Co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried said that despite the devastating effects of COVID-19, there is a lack of discourse about how to deal with pandemics of the future, which may be even more severe. (Source: Bloomberg)

The Federal Reserve may raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points toward the end of July, as officials turn to more aggressive measures to battle inflation. This scenario comes after the annualized inflation rate was announced to have accelerated to 9.1% in June. “We knew this inflation report was going to be ugly, and it was,” said Fed governor Christopher Waller. Recent interest rate increases have already spooked markets, with many investors now expecting a recession. (Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg)

Chinese authorities may agree to allow homeowners to pause payments on mortgages for unfinished properties there were presold, in an effort to avert social unrest and a confidence crisis that could devastate the housing market of the world’s second-largest economy. Chinese authorities have censored social media posts by frustrated homeowners and others who threatened a boycott. According to Owen Gallimore of Deutsche Bank, the problem stems from cash-strapped developers, some of whom have defaulted on dollar-denominated loans. Chinese households, meanwhile, on average hold about 70% of their wealth in property. (Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, Wall Street Journal)

The Indonesian government has threatened to block big tech companies, including Google and Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), if they fail to register under new licensing guidelines by July 20. Initially released in 2020, the new rules grant Indonesian authorities the power to remove content perceived as illegal or inciting public disorder. Reuters reports that Indonesia’s Communications Minister Johnny G. Plate said that if the companies failed to meet the deadline, tech firms’ business activities would be automatically blocked. “Our analysis shows that this will be the most repressive regulation of its kind in the region,” said Nenden Arum of the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network. Indonesia is home to an estimated 191 million social media users. (Source: Reuters)

on The Carlos Watson Show!

Following talks with Germany, Canada granted an exemption to Russian sanctions to allow for the servicing of six turbines that power the Nord Stream pipeline, which moves gas from Russia to Europe. The pipeline was closed for planned maintenance and reopens today, but its closure has left EU nations without their most significant fuel source and sparked fears that Russia would manipulate supply in retaliation for economic sanctions. The effects of stunted fuel supply due to the Nord Stream shutdown have reverberated throughout Europe’s largest economy, prompting German officials to approach Canada for the sanctions exemption. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

So eager is Europe to secure its gas supply that a turbine recently repaired in Montreal returns to Europe by cargo plane, rather than by sea. (Source: The Wall Street Journal)

What should the U.S. do about its shortage of workers?

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