World
US World Bank Nominee Ajay Banga Promises to Work with Africa, AfDB
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United States nominee for World Bank Group President, Mr Ajay Banga, began his global tour on Monday, with his first stop in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, where he met the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group President, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, and other senior management and Board of Directors.
Mr Banga was announced by US President, Mr Joe Biden, on February 23, as the country’s nominee for President of the World Bank Group. The institution’s current president, Mr David Malpass, recently announced his intention to step down by the end of June 2023.
Speaking at the multilateral lender headquarters, Mr Banga spoke about the need for the World Bank Group to develop a strong partnership with the bank group that would help deliver transformative results.
The US candidate for the World Bank’s top job highlighted three major issues affecting many parts of the world, which he said were of significant concern to him.
He said these were inequality, the tension between humanity and nature, and the tendency to apply short-term solutions to long-term problems which only deliver poor results.
Mr Banga said the challenges facing the world got complicated because of the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental degradation, and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine War.
The former Mastercard CEO emphasized the role of technology in helping to tackle challenges facing the world. He also talked about the role of the private sector in mobilizing much-needed capital resources for significant economic development. He said this applied both to private sector capital as well as to private sector ingenuity and innovation, which are needed to tackle the many challenges facing the world.
On his part, Mr Adesina said Mr Banga’s call for a regenerated partnership resonated with him. He stressed the need for a new way of working between the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
“It is more than financial. It’s more about how we work to optimize resources by engaging governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders to deliver meaningful change,” he said.
Mr Adesina said climate change remained the most serious existential threat to humanity, stressing that, “Climate change is decimating lives, displacing people, creating refugees, and deepening poverty.”
“It is what I call the triangle of disaster. You have increasing poverty, rising youth unemployment, and environmental degradation, and this is a breeding ground for terrorism,” he warned.
The AfDB head called for a global security council on environment and biodiversity, issues which he said were not getting the attention they deserved compared to other global challenges such as war.
Mr Adesina also called for a new way of measuring the wealth of nations instead of basing it on gross domestic product.
“This does not consider important factors like a country’s contribution to carbon emission and impact on biodiversity.”
“Globally, there is a need for greater responsibility to tackle the impact of climate change, environmental degradation, and protect biodiversity,” he said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To strengthen its position in decentralized derivatives, Synthetix is considering the acquisition of a decentralized onchain options AI-powered platform, Derive.
Derive, known for its innovative structured product offerings, has quickly gained recognition in the DeFi space for bringing intuitive and institutional-grade financial tools to the blockchain.
By integrating Derive’s front-end expertise and RWA strategies with Synthetix’ robust derivatives and liquidity infrastructure, Synthetix is positioned to accelerate the adoption of decentralized derivatives trading.
The strategic acquisition marks a significant step forward in Synthetix’s mission to launch the most renowned decentralized derivatives exchange on Ethereum Mainnet.
Under the terms of the agreement, Synthetix has proposed to acquire Derive in a token to token transaction.
The exchange ratio will be 27 $DRV <> 1 $SNX, reflecting an approximate $27 million valuation. This transaction is subject to approval from both the Synthetix and Derive community votes, taking place next week.
The acquisition is structured as a token-based merger, with Derive’s community and contributors joining Synthetix governance. The combined team will continue delivering on the Synthetix V4 roadmap and roll out options markets later this year.
“We’re combining the best onchain derivatives stack in DeFi – Derive, with one of the most iconic DeFi projects in its history – Synthetix.
“This deal will get maximum leverage out of Derive’s technical stack, and bring us closer to our shared goal of accelerating the adoption of decentralised derivatives.
“This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to see the impact of this team up on the market,” the founder of Derive, Mr Nick Forster, stated.
“The acquisition of Derive marks a significant milestone in Synthetix’s pursuit of developing the most robust decentralized derivatives platform in the crypto ecosystem.
“We are delighted to welcome Derive into the Synthetix family, leveraging our combined expertise to drive innovation and accelerate the launch of a comprehensive decentralized derivatives platform on Ethereum,” Mr Benjamin Celermajer of Synthetix stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The global markets are experiencing relief as the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, have agreed to slash tariffs on each other, to ease effects of a trade war.
Speaking after talks with Chinese officials in Geneva, US Treasury Secretary, Mr Scott Bessent told reporters that the two sides had reached a deal for a 90-day pause on measures.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said so-called reciprocal tariffs were now at 10 per cent each.
Business Post reports that in real terms, the deal means the US is reducing its 145 per cent tariff announced by President Donald Trump to 30 per cent on Chinese goods.
A tariff of 20 per cent had been implemented on China when President Trump took office over what his administration said was a failure to stop illegal drugs entering the US.
China has agreed to reduce its 125 per cent retaliatory tariffs to 10 per cent on US goods.
Sector-specific tariffs, such as the 25 per cent tax on cars, aluminium and steel, remain in place.
Last month, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tarrifs. However, China was the only country exempt from the pause on the retaliatory tariffs above the base 10 per cent levies.
The development had impacted many markets across the world from stocks to oil to bonds and minerals.
Mr Bessent said after a weekend of negotiations in Switzerland, the countries had a mechanism for continued talks.
It is the second major trade announcement made by the US in the last week, after a deal was secured with the United Kingdom on Thursday.
The move signals a willingness from the Americans to make deals on tariffs.
The news was received positively by major markets.
Brent crude is currently up 2.9 per cent to $65.78 per barrel while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up 3.1 per cent to $62.91 a barrel.
Asian stock markets on Monday as major indexes were up. In China, the Shanghai Composite stock index rose 0.8 per cent, the Shenzhen Component gained 1.7 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up nearly 3 per cent.
Korea’s Kospi grew 1.1 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.8 per cent while India’s Nifty 50 index of most valuable companies gained more than 3 per cent, as per Sky News.
CNBC reports that US stocks look set to rise on the open, based on after-hours trading. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq is expected to rise by 3.3 per cent, and the S&P 500 index of companies relied on to be stable and profitable by 2.5 per cent.
Mr Bessent also said, “As long as there is good faith effort, engagement and constructive dialogue, then we will keep moving forward,” in response to questions from journalists.
The market will await further developments and possible ease to recent headwinds.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The new pope of the Catholic Church has been revealed as Robert Prevost of the United States, the first American pontiff in history.
Following his emergence, he will be known as Pope Leo XIV.
Voting commenced on Wednesday, and after three rounds of black smoke, white smoke billowed above the Sistine Chapel on Thursday evening.
This is the signal that cardinals had selected a new pontiff on the second day of the conclave.
Prevost, age 69, from Chicago, Illinois, is a leader with global experience. He spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and served as a Bishop in Peru. He most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
There were 133 voting cardinals, who had all been sequestered inside the Vatican during the conclave. Any one of them needed two-thirds of the vote to become the next pope.
“Peace be with you all,” said Leo XIV in his first remarks as pope.
“This is the first greetings of the resurrected Christ, the good shepherd who has given up his life for God,” he said, explaining the choice of his greeting. “And I should also like this greeting of peace to enter our hearts and our families.”
Leo XIV looked visibly emotional as he waved to the adoring crowd in the square below the balcony.
A leader with global experience, he spent much of his career as a missionary in South America and most recently led a powerful Vatican office for bishop appointments. He is expected to build on Pope Francis’ reforms.
He worked for a decade in Trujillo, Peru, and was later appointed bishop of Chiclayo, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023.
Prevost also holds a Peruvian passport and has been a Peruvian citizen since 2015.
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