Bitcoin storms above $100,000 as bets on Trump fuel crypto euphoria
Bitcoin catapulted above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday, a milestone hailed even by skeptics as a coming-of-age for digital assets as investors bet on a friendly U.S. administration to cement the place of cryptocurrencies in financial markets. Once…
Regional analysts suggest caution as Nigeria signs new deals with France
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Political analysts in Nigeria say the country needs to be careful after signing a series of agreements with France during President Bola Tinubu’s three-day visit to the European country last week. Tinubu’s three-day visit to France was…
Trump says he will ‘block’ Nippon Steel from taking over US Steel
Washington — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday said he would “block” a planned takeover of US Steel by Japanese company Nippon Steel, a deal worth $14.9 billion including debts. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S….
Nigeria’s renewed crackdown on oil theft shows impact
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigerian security operatives recently recovered 1.2 million liters of stolen oil, destroyed scores of illegal refineries and arrested suspected thieves in the latest effort to address crude oil theft in Africa’s top oil producer. While many praise…
Malaysia urges Chinese firms to avoid using it to dodge US tariffs
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia has urged Chinese companies to refrain from using it as a base to “rebadge” products to avoid U.S. tariffs, its deputy trade minister said on Monday, amid increasing export restrictions and concerns of a U.S.-China trade…
Biden to spotlight Angola’s Lobito Corridor, his legacy to counter China in Africa
WASHINGTON — When U.S. President Joe Biden visits Angola on Wednesday, he will put into focus his legacy infrastructure project aimed at securing crucial supply chains on the African continent. Called the Lobito Corridor, the project is the centerpiece of…
‘Everything is expensive!’ Bolivia faces a shocking economic collapse
Fuel is rapidly becoming one of Bolivia’s scarcest commodities. Long lines of vehicles snake for several kilometers outside gas stations all over Bolivia, once South America’s second-largest producer of natural gas. Some of the queues don’t budge for days. While…
Eggs are available but pricier as the holiday baking season begins
U.S. egg prices are rising once more as a lingering outbreak of bird flu coincides with the high demand of the holiday baking season. But prices are still far from the recent peak they reached almost two years ago. And…
Foreign smartphone sales in China drop 44% in October, data show
New data released Wednesday from a Chinese government-affiliated research firm showed sales of foreign-branded smartphones, including Apple’s iPhone, fell 44.25% year-on-year in China in October, while overall phone sales in China have increased 1.8%, Reuters reported. The data released by…
Some Zimbabwean farmers turn to maggots to survive drought and thrive
NYANGAMBE, ZIMBABWE — At first, the suggestion to try farming maggots spooked Mari Choumumba and other farmers in Nyangambe, a region in southeastern Zimbabwe where drought wiped out the staple crop of corn. After multiple cholera outbreaks in the southern…