Mark Bohlund

IMF policy paper stocktaking of international debt architecture for resolving sovereign debt with private creditors, Box 2, reference to Afreximbank ... www.imf.org/en/Publicati...

Great paper with good section on Chad "Due to higher oil prices, Chad’s repayments were accelerated, resulting in negative haircuts."

The Scramble for Madagascar

"Madagascar was among the prizes of Europe’s ruthless African land grab. When a US diplomat made plans for his own colonial enterprise, he found that the French had other ideas." The Scramble for Madagascar www.historytoday.com/archive/feat... via @HistoryToday

Uganda / World Bank Economic Update with special topic on revenue mobilization. Nice box on the use of supplemental budgets which have contributed to budget bloat; ministries of defence & presidency play a big role in these unplanned resource calls. www.worldbank.org/en/news/pres...

Ethiopia / Eurobond restructuring: "The government had proposed a 20% haircut, citing the International Monetary Fund's debt sustainability analysis. But a group of investors representing bondholders rejected the proposal, and have said that Ethiopia's export earnings data indicate ..."

How to build trust and capabilities for effective governance in Africa - Afronomics In this episode of Afronomics, host Andrew Dabalen speaks with Dr. Ken Opalo, a leading scholar on African political economy and governance. Opalo,...

How to build trust and capabilities for effective governance in Africa: world-bank-afronomics.captivate.fm/episode/how-...

The old Etonian, his president father and torture in an African jail In the first of an exclusive three-part series, Noureddin Bongo tells Claudia Cockerell about his hell after his family were ousted in a coup in Gabon

"Before the coup, Noureddin described himself as an “Africa-focused entrepreneur”. Now, he says he may not be able to return to the continent. And when we ask whether he would ever go back to #Gabon, he gives a weary laugh and slowly shakes his head. “Never.” www.standard.co.uk/news/nouredd...

US soyabean farmers squeezed as China blocks imports and stockpiles rise Overseas sales of top US export crop plummet as trade talks between Washington and Beijing stall

"In 2019, after Trump imposed tariffs on China, Beijing slashed US soyabean imports. The Trump administration launched a $23bn bailout for farmers. “The last time [the US] did this, we lost about 20% market share to Brazil, and that never came back” www.ft.com/content/b920...

Time to go long Kosovo? 😅🙃 " Other available concessional financing includes two World Bank development policy loans, each for EUR90 million, and two bilateral loans totalling EUR 160 billion." www.fitchratings.com/research/sov...

"China has aligned decarbonization with its economic growth strategy. In practice that means systematically building infrastructure, sophisticated supply chains and a predictable domestic market for clean energy."
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/o...

S&P brings #Morocco back to investment grade after 4½ years. Upgrade reflects "our view of a supportive macroeconomic policy mix, contributing significantly to solid macroeconomic prospects, gradual budgetary consolidation, and contained current account deficit." www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/r...

Ghana’s brain drain fuels Africa’s $10bn medical tourism leak - The Africa Report.com As doctors and nurses flee Ghana and patients head abroad, the continent is haemorrhaging billions and squandering trust in its own health systems.

Good article on UK and US draining African countries for doctors and nurses by not educating enough medical professionals. www.theafricareport.com/393266/ghana...

Bessent says US in talks with Argentina over $20bn swap line Proposed measure comes as Trump administration seeks to support Javier Milei’s libertarian government

Trump's Argentine bail out could set up biggest sovereign story of the decade. If Argentina defaults despite the bail out, Trump will want seniority, but IMF cant give it. You can imagine how this descends into a colossal row between IMF and its biggest shareholder www.ft.com/content/4127...

IMF Staff to Visit Kenya An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Haimanot Teferra, mission chief for Kenya, will visit Nairobi from September 25 to October 9 to initiate discussions with the Kenyan authorities...

"At the request of the #Kenyan authorities, an IMF staff team will begin initial discussions in the coming days on a possible Fund-supported program." An IMF staff team, led by Haimanot Teferra, will visit Nairobi 25/9-9/10 to initiate discussions with the authorities. www.imf.org/en/News/Arti...

Norway finds place in spotlight during ‘golden age’ of film-making Distinctive and critically acclaimed films and drama series from ‘a big hub of talent’ are appealing to audiences around the world

Norway had always been “the little brother or sister” to Denmark & Sweden when it came to film.
Sarah Almbjerg said it would not be long before Danish film was “back in the international limelight”. “Until then, the Norwegians can enjoy their place in the sun” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Djibouti / IMF Art IV staff report. The sovereign arrears situation is quite broad ... www.imf.org/en/Publicati...

Great article Sid. Thanks for writing it.

Moody's shifts outlook on #Rwanda B2 rating from negative to stable to reflect that external financial assistance, especially from international financial institutions, has remained strong over the past few months and will likely continue to support its credit profile. www.moodys.com/research/Moo...

Man and children burn alive in Tesla crash as rescuers 'unable to work car door' A MAN and two children were burned to death after getting trapped inside a Tesla in a horror crash. The Tesla is said to have veered off the road and smashed into a tree while attempting to overtak…

so, about those Tesla door handles...

www.thesun.co.uk/news/3677623...

ITFC recorded its first significant new non-performing exposure (NPE) in late 2024, rising to 2.8% from 0.0% in 2023. it's the first major overdue in excess of 90 days since 2016, resulting from exceptional political circumstances in Mali. As of 8/9/25, Mali has fully repaid its financing from ITFC.

‘Moonshot’ education finance facility aims to turn $1 into $7 in LMICs The International Finance Facility for Education is finally up and running — and it’s “a smart aid approach,” according to its first CEO, Karthik Krishnan.

I'm optimistic about the long-awaited launch of IFFEd. It's hard to beat the returns on investing in children, so cheaper loans for middle-income countries to spend more now is probably a good bet

www.devex.com/news/moonsho...

Afrique du Sud. À Johannesburg, la vie brutaliste de Ponte City - Histoire Inauguré il y a cinquante ans, l’un des bâtiments les plus emblématiques de la capitale économique sud-africaine est en vente aux enchères. Marquant l’apogée du régime d’apartheid, la tour (…)

C'est pas pour faire nos intéressants mais @afriquexxi.bsky.social raconte des histoires qu'on ne lit pas ailleurs. Passionnant papier de @lowcausse34.bsky.social // À Johannesburg, la vie brutaliste de Ponte City

Guinea (Conakry) gets its first credit rating, B+ with S&P. External financing for Simandou and other projects still likely to come from China Exim Bank. Useful external financing table in tweet below. Possible that Afrexim will get involved.
x.com/Markbohlund/...

www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/r...

Scott Bessent’s chief of staff set to move to IMF Dan Katz expected to become second to fund chief Kristalina Georgieva

Being a co-founder of a global macro fund with no less a personage than Stephen Miran gets you in the door to be deputy managing director of the IMF these days I see. www.ft.com/content/1209...

This column estimates the potential trade efficiency gains between 45 African countries & 43 trading partners over 1996-2020, highlighting the untapped trade potential between African countries and how removing trade barriers across regional communities can boost trade. cepr.org/voxeu/column...

S&P lowered its t ratings on #Botswana to 'BBB' from 'BBB+' with negative outlook maintained. "Even with consolidation efforts to reduce spending, our projections indicate a still-sizable overall deficit of about 7.6% of GDP for fiscal 2025." www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/r...

"We anticipate declining public external debt amortisations combined with resilient external financing sources (*cough Algeria/Saudi *cough) will help narrow #Tunisia's net negative external financing flows from a record 3.7% of GDP in 2024 to 1% in 2027." www.fitchratings.com/research/sov...

A mobilisation machine: International corporate bonds in sub-Saharan Africa - British International Investment Foreign investment in African economies is hampered by a mismatch between what the asset managers that control the largest pools...

new @britishintinv.bsky.social report about (the absence of) international corporate bonds from sub-Saharan Africa, and how getting that market going would make getting foreign capital into the continent a whole lot easier:

www.bii.co.uk/en/news-insi...

2/14
While the primacy of the dollar is certainly good for bankers, financiers, and very wealthy owners of movable capital, what's much less obvious is the extent to which it benefits or harms American workers, manufacturers and middle class households.