Headlines

Kenya’s economy is expected to expand this year as activity resumes following Covid-19 lockdowns, boosting tax revenue and government spending, Bloomberg News reported. East Africa’s largest economy will probably expand 6.4% this year and growth will slow to 5.5% in 2022, with scheduled elections likely to dampen activity, Treasury said in a report on its website. The Treasury estimates that gross domestic product increased 0.6% in 2020, which would make it one of few countries in the region that did not record a full-year contraction amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Amigo said it would be insolvent if a proposed cap on customer payouts fails as the subprime lender published details of its plan, Sharecast.com reported. The company has written to customers and the financial ombudsman with details of a scheme of arrangement that would limit payments to customers and the ombudsman. Creditors will be asked to vote for the plan at a meeting on 30 March. If the scheme fails there will be no money for creditors whereas under the plan creditors will get a share of £15-£35m plus a share of Amigo's profit over the next four years, it said.

Britain’s economy will shrink over the longer term as the EU-UK Brexit trade deal “lacks substance” in vital areas, credit analysts warn in a report released on Monday, the Irish Times reported. Their assessment comes as Irish businesses on both sides of the Border continue to wrestle with difficulties caused by the UK’s exit from the world’s biggest trade bloc this month. Credit ratings agency Moody’s, which assesses organisations’ and states’ abilities to pay their debts, says a trade deal struck between Brussels and London on Christmas Eve is skewed in the EU’s favour.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced on Monday that he would resign, plunging the country into fresh political turmoil, Politico reported. By stepping down, Conte will avoid a humiliating defeat in parliament in a vote on judicial reforms later this week. He narrowly won the backing of parliament in a ballot last week after former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the small Italia Viva party, withdrew his ministers from the ruling coalition, forcing a confidence vote.

President Biden’s revocation of a permit for TC Energy Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline is raising pressure on Canada’s energy industry to seek new markets for oil and gas, its top export, the Wall Street Journal reported. Biden revoked the Keystone XL permit last Wednesday, hours after taking office, effectively shutting down a 12-year, cross-border project that would have carried 830,000 barrels a day from Alberta to Nebraska and eventually to refiners on the Gulf Coast. His executive order, which fulfilled a campaign promise, cited concerns about climate change.

Canada’s unemployment rate in December was revised to 8.8% from 8.6% on Monday, while the net decline in jobs for the month was amended to 52,700 from 62,600, as Statistics Canada completed a historic review of its labor force data, Reuters reported. The revision, undertaken to ensure the data was aligned with recent population and geographical boundary estimates, had “virtually no effect” on employment estimates for the pandemic period of March to December 2020, the agency said.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde sounded a cautiously optimistic note on Europe’s economic recovery despite a wave of Covid-19 infections that has closed shops, schools and businesses across the region, triggering a selloff in eurozone government debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. At a news conference on Thursday, Ms. Lagarde said a resurgence of the pandemic in Europe was squeezing business investment and crimping consumer spending.

Carnival Corp.’s flagship cruising brand extended its pause on U.S. departures through the end of April and shelved operations in Australia through mid-May amid lingering pandemic concerns, Bloomberg News reported. Carnival Cruise Line also canceled European trips on Carnival Legend that had been poised to start in May, and delayed trips on Mardi Gras from Port Canaveral, Fla., until the end of that month, according to a statement on Friday. The announcement is the latest in a long line of delays since the entire industry essentially went on hold in mid-March.