Walk down the aisles of a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market in the U.S., and chances are many of the piles of oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit will be labeled “Produce of South Africa,” Bloomberg reported. They have become a staple in the U.S. — the world’s largest citrus importer — especially during the off-season summer months when in the southern hemisphere the South African winter harvest is at its peak. But now, those supplies are threatened by a potential 31% tariff President Donald Trump has slapped on the country.

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A record share of the world’s central banks plans to accumulate more gold over the next 12 months, drawn by bullion’s performance during times of crisis and protection against inflation, Bloomberg reported. In a survey of 72 monetary authorities, 43% said they expected their gold reserves to increase, up from 29% a year earlier and the highest figure in eight years of data collected by the World Gold Council and YouGov. None anticipated a decline. Central banks have been one of the most important drivers of a long-running gold rally that has seen prices double since late-2022.

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The Technical University of Kenya (TUK) has addressed reports that the university has been shut down days after it was declared financially insolvent by the National Assembly, the Kenya Times reported. The Parliamentary Committee on Education on Wednesday, April 16, declared TUK insolvent amid a deepening financial crisis marked by billions of debts and persistent salary delays for staff. This came after current and former administrators faced tough questions before the committee about how the institution accrued debts exceeding Ksh12 billion.
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South Africa is considering offering additional incentives to automakers to help cushion the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on cars, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau said on Thursday, Reuters reported. "What we're currently considering is the possibility of expanding the automotive industry production plan so that we're able to mitigate the impact in our industry," Tau said in an interview with radio broadcaster Power FM.
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U.S. lawmakers have introduced legislation that could block International Monetary Fund support for some Central African countries, in an effort to guard billions of dollars that oil companies must set aside for environmental restoration, Reuters reported. The bill highlights a standoff between foreign investors on one side and Central African monetary authorities trying to enforce tighter capital controls on extractive industries to shore up depleted reserves on the other. Introduced by U.S.
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A Nigerian court has adjourned a tax evasion case against Binance to April 30 to allow the local tax authority to respond to a request by the cryptocurrency exchange to annul an order for court documents to be served on it by email, a lawyer for Binance said on Monday, Reuters reported. The lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, asked the court to set aside the order because the tax authority did not obtain a leave from the court to serve court documents on Binance outside Nigeria. Binance does not have a physical office in Nigeria.
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Ghana’s new central bank Governor Johnson Asiama showed his commitment to fighting inflation by unexpectedly raising the benchmark interest rate, Bloomberg News reported. The monetary policy committee lifted the policy rate to 28% from 27%, Asiama told reporters at a press briefing in Accra, the capital on Friday. None of the five economists in a Bloomberg survey expected an increase - the first since July 2023. It was Asiama’s first policy decision since replacing Ernest Addison as governor in February. The hike “is meant to re-anchor the disinflation process,” Asiama said.
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Ethiopia has reached a deal with its official creditors to restructure $8.4 billion of international debt, a key milestone in the nation’s efforts to overhaul its loans and boost growth, Bloomberg News reported. The agreement with bilateral lenders under the G20 Common Framework, backed by an International Monetary Fund program, will slash debt service by $2.5 billion through 2028, its finance ministry said on Friday, without giving details of the terms. The deal will allow the country to spend more on “critical public investments,” the ministry said in a statement.
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