Finance
South Sudan’s Kiir sacks finance minister, central bank governor
JUBA, Aug 4 (Reuters) – South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has eliminated the finance minister and central financial institution governor from their posts, a decree learn on state-run tv mentioned.
The decree mentioned Kiir had named Dier Tong Ngor as finance minister to exchange Agak Acuil Lual, whereas the central financial institution’s first deputy governor, Johnny Ohisa Damian, will exchange Moses Makur Deng as governor in an appearing capability.
No purpose was given for his or her replacements.
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Ngor had been appointed as governor in 2020, and on the time it was the second time the financial institution’s head had been changed.
Lual had been named as finance minister in 2021 and had introduced the 2022/23 funds to parliament on Wednesday.
South Sudan’s financial system has been within the doldrums since a civil battle that erupted in 2013 that compelled a few quarter of its inhabitants to flee to neighbouring nations.
The battle has additionally stifled oil manufacturing, the financial system’s main exercise, whereas output in different sectors like agriculture has additionally plummeted.
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Writing by George Obulutsa; Modifying by Daniel Wallis
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Finance
Investors eye PCE, Costco shares under pressure: Yahoo Finance
Wall Street is digesting this morning’s release of the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation. Meanwhile, Costco (COST) shares are under pressure following the wholesale retail giant’s latest quarterly results. Despite recent increases in membership fees, the company fell short of sales expectations. Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers include BlackBerry Limited (BB), SuperMicro Computer (SMCI), and Coinbase (COIN).
Key guests include:
9:05 a.m. ET : Tiffany Wilding, PIMCO Managing Director and Economist
9:30 a.m. ET Angelo Kourkafas, Edward Jones Senior Investment Strategist
10:15 a.m. ET Rich Lesser, BCG Global Chair
10:45 a.m. ET Stuart Kaiser, Citi Head of U.S. Equity Trading Strategy
11:30 a.m. ET Ed Hallen, Klaviyo Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder
Finance
Biodiversity still a low consideration in international finance: Report
Biodiversity-related projects have seen an increase in international funding in recent years, but remain a low priority compared to other development initiatives, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The report found total official development finance (ODF) for such projects grew from $7.3 billion in 2015 to $15.4 billion in 2022. That’s still less than what the nearly 200 governments that signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in December 2022 agreed would be needed to halt biodiversity loss: at least $20 billion annually by 2025, and $30 billion annually by 2030.
Government funding made up the bulk of the ODF for biodiversity-related projects in the OECD report, which is welcome news, Campaign for Nature (CfN), a U.S.-based advocacy group, said in a statement.
“We welcome the increase in international biodiversity finance reported in 2022 but that good news is tempered by a range of concerns,” Mark Opel, finance lead at CfN, told Mongabay.
One concern, CfN notes, is that funding specifically for biodiversity as a principal objective declined from $4.6 billion in 2015 to $3.8 billion in 2022. CfN reviewed hundreds of projects from 2022, which formed the source for the OECD’s report, and found that many either had vague descriptions or focused on other policies like agriculture but were counted toward protecting or restoring nature.
“We need to see more emphasis on funding with a primary focus on biodiversity,” Opel said. “So-called ‘principal’ funding that has biodiversity as its primary goal continues to be down since its 2015 peak. Increases in this type of funding are essential to meet the goals of the GBF … These goals cannot be met through funding with biodiversity as only a ‘significant’ goal that mainstreams biodiversity into projects with other primary goals like humanitarian aid or agriculture.”
The report also found that funding for biodiversity-related activities represent just 2-7% of the total ODF portfolio.
“It is concerning that biodiversity considerations still represent a relatively low share of the total official development assistance,” Markus Knigge, executive director of Germany-based nonprofit foundation Blue Action Fund, told Mongabay. He added it was also problematic that most funding came via loans, which have to be repaid, rather than grants, which are often more appropriate for conservation finance.
CfN says grants are preferable to loans because they don’t add to the debt burden of low-income recipient countries.
At the same time, development funding from major donors such as Germany, France, EU institutions, the U.S. and Japan have been cut in recent years.
“We have seen minimal announcements of new international biodiversity finance since [the GBF signing],” Opel said. “We estimate that only the equivalent of $162 million annually has been pledged since [then], which doesn’t come close to filling the $4.6 billion gap between the $15.4 billion in 2022 and the $20 billion commitment in 2025.”
Banner image: Javan lutung by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.
Finance
30-year mortgage rate hits 2-year low
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was nearly unchanged this week but reached its lowest level in two years.
Thirty-year mortgage rates averaged 6.08% as of Thursday, down from 6.09% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data.
Average 15-year mortgage rates rose one basis point to 5.16%.
As mortgage rates hover around 6%, potential buyers are tiptoeing back into the market, and some homeowners who bought when interest rates topped 7% are weighing refinancing. Mortgage applications jumped to the highest level in more than two years last week, driven largely by refinancing volumes.
“Given the downward trajectory of rates, refinance activity continues to pick up, creating opportunities for many homeowners to trim their monthly mortgage payment,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Meanwhile, many looking to purchase a home are playing the waiting game to see if rates decrease further as additional economic data is released over the next several weeks.”
Thirty-year mortgage rates have dropped more than a percentage point since May.
Read more: Mortgage and refinance rates today, September 26, 2024: Rates finally decrease
The Pending Home Sales Index, a measure of housing contract activity, rose 0.6% to 70.6 in August, improving slightly from July’s record-low reading, according to the National Association of Realtors. A level of 100 is equal to the amount of contract activity seen in 2001.
“Buyers are finally getting more comfortable with the rate,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at real estate data provider CoreLogic. “I don’t think that’s going to mean a big boost for home sales this year given how low they’ve been so far, but still, it’s a little bit of improvement.”
Claire Boston is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.
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