Story of the Day:
In the last few decades, Zambia and the rest of the world have struggled to promote gender equality in terms of economic, health and political participation, especially in decision making positions. Statistics show that while women represent around 50% of the world’s total population, they account for only about 40% of the global formal workforce. This number drops dramatically in developing countries. Read more
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Fitch Ratings has downgraded Zambia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘C’ from ‘CC’. Fitch has also downgraded the ratings on Zambia’s senior unsecured foreign-currency bonds included in the “consent solicitation” to ‘C’ from ‘CC’. This includes all of the foreign-currency bonds rated by Fitch. Read more: Fitch Ratings
Zambian inflation quickened for the first time in four months in September. Consumer prices rose 15.7% from a year earlier, compared with 15.5% in August, Mulenga Musepa, the interim statistician general at the Zambia Statistics Agency, told reporters Thursday in Lusaka, the capital. Costs increased 1.4% in the month. Read more: MSN
The finance minister will have to assure creditors he’s got a plan for the country’s debt and convince the IMF the government merits a bailout when he presents his annual budget. Bwalya Ng’andu must also find ways to ensure a rebound for an economy forecast to contract the most since 1994, and make its finances more sustainable with elections set to be held in August 2021. Read more: Bloomberg
The Bank of Zambia has disbursed 1.8 billion of the K10 billion stimulus package. Six commercial banks and five non-banking institutions accessed the funds as of September 22. The Central Bank also approved K6 billion which is expected to go to priority and non-priority sectors of the economy. Meanwhile, 11 banks and 17 non-banks have applied for a total of K7.1 billion. Read more: ZNBC
Gender Minister Elizabeth Phiri has urged women to come up with business ventures that will help sustain the country’s economy. Read more: ZNBC
The European Union and the French government have pledged to continue supplementing government’s efforts in improving the power generation and access to electricity by all citizens in the country. The EU has injected at least €240 million in the energy sector for the enhancement of modern energy production such as renewable. Read more: Lusaka Times
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America could have been $16 trillion richer if not for inequities in education, housing, wages and business investment between Black and White Americans over the past 20 years, new research by Citigroup concludes. Read more: CBS News
Huawei says it is in survival mode as continuous “attacks” from the United States threaten to choke off the Chinese company’s access to key technology. Read more: CNN
Shoppers will feel the impact of a no-deal Brexit at supermarket tills, the British Retail Consortium has warned. The BRC said tariffs would add £3.1 billion a year to the cost of importing food and drink unless the UK and EU can strike a free trade agreement. Read more: BBC News
Zimbabwe has given the nod for international flights to resume, in an effort to revive the economy, six months after it was forced to close its borders to stem the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The country has slowly reopened its tourism sector, as there have been fewer cases of the disease. Read more: All Africa
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In 6 trades recorded yesterday, 3,447 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K3,940. A share price loss of K0.83 was recorded in Real Estate Investments Zambia. Trading activity was also recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 3,823.58 points, 0.28% down from its previous close of 3,834.35 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K55,463,674,390 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,224,468,410 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: