Agricultural machinery: growing market in the Mediterranean region
Tractor sales figures – presented today in Bari by FederUnacoma president Mariateresa Maschio – indicate a positive trend in southern Europe, the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East. The Agrilevante exhibition as a vector of innovation for the entire Mediterranean region. The agricultural machinery market is growing throughout the Mediterranean area, and promises strong development in the coming years. This was the picture described by Mariateresa Maschio, the President of the Italian manufacturers’ association FederUnacoma, during the press conference held this afternoon at the Bari exhibition centre, on the eve of Agrilevante, the major exhibition of agricultural machinery for the Mediterranean area. In southern European countries (Spain, France, Greece and Italy) tractor sales have maintained high levels in recent years.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 05, 2023 05:48 UTC
Fearing ostracism or worse, many nonbelievers hide their views in the Middle East and North Africa
There’s the Tunisian woman who fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, though not for God. The Iraqi woman…There’s the Tunisian woman who fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, though not for God. “I have a double life all the time,” said the 27-year-old Tunisian woman. The Tunisian woman said she fasts to avoid being found out by her Muslim family. “We have an unspoken agreement: I don’t criticize religion and you don’t criticize my lack of religion,” he said.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 05, 2023 04:40 UTC
Long Bonds’ Historic 46% Meltdown Rivals Burst of Dot-Com Bubble
(Bloomberg) -- Losses on longer-dated Treasuries are beginning to rival some of the most notorious market meltdowns in US history. That’s just shy of the 49% plunge in US stocks in the aftermath of the dot-com bust at the turn of the century. The rout in 30-year bonds has been even worse, tumbling 53%, nearing the 57% slump in equities during the depths of the financial crisis. “It’s quite something,” said Thomas di Galoma, co-head of global rates trading at BTIG and a four-decade market veteran. It’s kind of like defying gravity here.”Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 05, 2023 00:36 UTC
Egypt's current account deficit at $4.7bln in FY 2022-23 -central bank
Egypt's current account deficit dropped to $4.7 billion in the fiscal year 2022/23 from $16.6 billion in the previous year, central bank said in a statement on Wednesday. Egypt's net foreign direct investment inflows reached $10 billion in the same period, the central bank added. (Reporting by Yomna Ehab and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Alison Williams)
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 21:02 UTC
Virtual power plants and strength of data
Shingai Samudzi, Asoba CEO, spoke to ESI Africa at Enlit Africa about their virtual power plants service offering and the derisking of projects. He sees Asoba playing the role of controller to allow connections to multiple energy sources for greater control of cost pricing and cost. Find out more about Asoba.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 20:55 UTC
North Africa will host the World Cup for the first time as part of a historic joint award for Spain, Portugal, and Morocco
Morocco, Portugal and Spain will jointly host the World Cup in 2030, the first time that matches in the most famous international football competition will be held in North Africa. “Having taken into account the historical context of the first-ever FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Council further unanimously agreed to host a unique centenary celebration ceremony in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo,” the organization said. “We will do our best to host the best World Cup in history.”Spain and Morocco have a very close but complex diplomatic relationship. On the pitch, Morocco became the first North African side to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, in Qatar in 2022. The award of the 2030 version is also symbolic for Spain, which in August won the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 18:03 UTC
SA fintech startup Stitch announces $25m Series A extension round
South African fintech startup Stitch has announced a US$25 million Series A extension round led by Ribbit Capital, which will be used to continue building out its end-to-end payments solutions, and expand to additional markets. The Stitch payments API and tools reduce the effort required for businesses across sectors to connect to the financial system and deliver delightful experiences for their users. The startup raised US$6 million seed funding in 2021, and quickly moved on to Series A with a US$21 million round in February of last year. Since then it has expanded its offering, launching the Stitch payments suite, and WigWag, a no code payment links platform for small businesses. Stitch has now announced a US$25 million extension to that Series A round, taking total funding secured by the company to US$52 million.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 18:02 UTC
Football’s World Cup Is Coming to North Africa for First Time
(Bloomberg) -- Morocco, Portugal and Spain will jointly host the World Cup in 2030, the first time that matches in the most famous international football competition will be held in North Africa. “Having taken into account the historical context of the first-ever FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Council further unanimously agreed to host a unique centenary celebration ceremony in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo,” the organization said. “We will do our best to host the best World Cup in history.”Spain and Morocco have a very close but complex diplomatic relationship. On the pitch, Morocco became the first North African side to reach the semifinals of the World Cup, in Qatar in 2022. The award of the 2030 version is also symbolic for Spain, which in August won the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 17:22 UTC
2030 World Cup: Spain, Portugal and Morocco to host with games also staged in South America
If the 2030 proposal is approved, Morocco would become only the second African nation to host World Cup finals matches, after South Africa in 2010. Portugal has never hosted a World Cup before, but Uefa Euro 2004 was held in that country. Brazil, in 2014, were the last South American nation to host the tournament. Fifa president Gianni Infantino welcomed the news, saying: “In a divided world, Fifa and football are uniting. It’s the end of the World Cup as we know it.”
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 17:13 UTC
FIFA World Cup 2030 to Be Hosted by Morocco, Portugal, Spain
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Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 16:59 UTC
Algerian PM stresses Tunisian-Algerian keenness to boost bilateral cooperation and partnership
Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Ben Abdelrahman said he is looking forward to the Tunisian-Algerian Economic Forum for Business Leaders to produce results and outcomes that match the high and distinguished level of the political relations that unite the two countries and peoples. Abderrahman was speaking at the opening of the forum, which he co-chaired with his Tunisian counterpart in Algiers on Tuesday. He noted that the large government delegation accompanying the Tunisian Prime Minister reflects the importance that Tunisia attaches to the development of stronger and deeper economic relations with Algeria. This requires Algerian and Tunisian economic operators to make the most of all available opportunities to increase and expand the volume of trade, he stressed. With regard to investment, the Algerian Prime Minister expressed his satisfaction with the opportunities for economic integration between Algeria and Tunisia and the advantages offered by the two countries' markets.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 14:42 UTC
African carriers report 4.7% drop in August cargo demand
"This was a significant decrease in performance compared to July (+2.3 percent). August regional performanceAsia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes increase by 4.9 percent in August 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. North American carriers saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 1.2 percent. Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 1.4 percent year-on-year increase in cargo volumes in August 2023. Latin American carriers had the strongest performance in August 2023 with a 6.2 percent increase in cargo volumes compared to August 2022.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 14:23 UTC
Steering Tunisia away from Default
At first, the European Union (EU) and many of its member states evinced great concern about Tunisia’s direction under Saïed. In today’s conditions, the government would struggle to find alternative external financing to cover the costs, as Tunisia’s economic indicators continue to deteriorate. There would be risks and downsides to accepting an IMF loan as well. Under the latter arrangement, and following end-of-September discussions among EU member states, Tunisia is to handle asylum applications of Europe-bound refugees on its own soil, rather than allowing these people to cross the Mediterranean and apply. What the EU Can Do The EU and member states face highly imperfect choices when it comes to Tunisia.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 14:17 UTC
Mauritania reins in BP to respect commitments in connection to GTA gas project – The North Africa Post
Mauritania’s minister of Oil, Gas and Mines Nani O. Chrougha Tuesday October 3 reminded British Petrolium (BP) to abide by requirements and commitments taken in the execution of “Grand Tortue Ahmeyime (GTA)”, a Liquefied National Gas (LNG) project situated on the border with Senegal. BP owns 56 per cent of project in which both Mauritania and Senegal are shareholders. Both countries signed an inter-government co-operation agreement (ICA) in February 2018, which provided for the development of the cross-border gas project with each country sharing resources and revenues on a 50/50 basis. They also granted GTA the status of ‘National Project of Strategic Importance’ in July 2021, Offshore-Technology reports. GTA is expected to produce 2.3 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG in phase one.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 14:13 UTC
Morgan Stanley downgrades Egypt’s sovereign credit rating to “dislike stance” – The North Africa Post
New York-based investment banking company Morgan Stanley has moved Egypt’s sovereign credit to a “dislike stance” from a “neutral” rating and noted that the cash-strapped country will face what it termed “mounting risks” in the coming months, Bloomberg reports. The bank argued that the upcoming December elections exacerbate the situation. President al Sisi Monday October 2 announced plans to seek another term in office, a move to extend his rule over the country since 2014. The North African country, the bank notes, has lost favor with foreign portfolio investors who once saw it as a prime destination for hot money that kept its currency stable and boasted some of the world’s highest interest rates when adjusted for prices. However, honey moment turned sour as investors turned sharply against riskier assets with the Russian-Ukraine war last year, forcing several rounds of devaluation in Egypt that touched off inflation.
Source:The North Africa Journal
October 04, 2023 14:11 UTC