WHY do we dread budget time? Is it because there is little good news, if any, that comes out of such an exercise, particularly when it comes to helping the poor in times of economic hardship? The national budget will … Read more
Money
LATEST POSTS
Zimbabwe: expectations, anticipation and reality
AFTER being in the diaspora for seven years and following Zimbabwe’s progress, or lack of, through media reports, it has been a great challenge to reconcile my expectations with reality. Being away for so long results in a natural loss … Read more
RBM collapse: a failure of regulation
THE recent problems at ReNaissance have no doubt reignited sad memories of the 2003 financial sector crisis in which 13 indigenous banks collapsed. Between December 2003 and June 2004, five banks were placed under curatorship, two were liquidated and four … Read more
‘Loan sharks’ feast on culture of profligacy
I HAVE followed with some interest recent developments in Zimbabwe’s financial sector, in particular the severe challenges faced by Renaissance Bank. There are two observations to be made. First, the collapse of Renaissance has been presented as a failure of … Read more
Zim dollar cannot wait for elections
THE debate about the proposed gold-backed Zimbabwe dollar has turned out to be a very interesting battle of ideas. My old university motto taught us its always wise to “think in other terms”. After a decade of economic decline, Zimbabwe … Read more
Time to break Europe’s strangehold on IMF top job
IT WAS not even possible to imagine, at the start of last week, that events in a luxury suite in a New York hotel would have profound ramifications on the politics of global finance and regulation. Yet the arrest of … Read more
Thumbs up to gold-backed Zim dollar
RESERVE Bank Governor Gideon Gono’s proposal this week for the introduction of a gold-backed Zimbabwe dollar is an idea whose time has come. If implemented properly, the gold-backed local currency will resolve the liquidity crisis currently ravaging the sanctions-hit economy. … Read more
Curious case of Mujuru and the Chinese yuan
AS FAR as economic ideas go, Vice President Joice Mujuru’s contemplative bright spark regarding adopting the Chinese Yuan as Zimbabwe’s currency is the most unorthodox. With due respect to Mujuru, as economists we can only assume the statement was perhaps … Read more
No job harder than selling a car
YOU should remember the first car you ever bought. In most cases, it was because you needed a contraption that would take you from place to place. Even the socialists of our day knew the necessity of owning a vehicle. … Read more
You could be debt free
AS THE credit crunch bites, millions of consumers are facing financial ruin as they struggle to pay several credit commitments they have taken in the past. Some 50 million Credit Agreements are created in the UK each year. They … Read more
