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Africa’s growing gambling use is sapping income that would ordinarily be flowing into groceries, entertainment and mobile phone bills. The leaders of the continent’s largest companies are now warning about the harm the trend is inflicting on household budgets. “People are spending money in a black hole that could have spent on food,” said Pieter Engelbrecht , the chief executive officer of Africa’...
Africa’s growing gambling use is sapping income that would ordinarily be flowing into groceries, entertainment and mobile phone bills. The leaders of the continent’s largest companies are now warning about the harm the trend is inflicting on household budgets. “People are spending money in a black hole that could have spent on food,” said Pieter Engelbrecht , the chief executive officer of Africa’s largest grocer Shoprite Holdings Ltd . Online betting is mushrooming across Africa, with gross gaming revenue projected to reach $13.5 billion this year, more than double its 2023 level, according to data from H2 Gambling Capital . Fueled by a young, fast-growing population, rising smartphone use and weak regulation, betting firms are rapidly drawing in users, leaving their customers with less money to spend on other discretionary items. South Africa’s Treasury called it an “important policy concern” that may need government intervention in the form of further regulation and taxation, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. As spending on online betting rises, it is contributing to financial distress among heavy users. The average share of income spent on gambling doubled to 2% between 2021 and 2025, according to research by Africa’s largest bank, Standard Bank , shared with Bloomberg News. Spending is highly uneven: about 7% of people spend more than 100% of their income on gambling, according to the research, relying on credit and other supplementary proceeds. In South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, spending on betting has risen about 50% each year over the past three years, even as overall consumer spending weakens, according to data from Absa bank. The rise in gambling is accompanied by rising borrowing — and missed loan payments. Absa’s CEO Kenny Fihla said that gambling trends are a “huge predictor” of loan delinquency. “The more clients become indebted, the more they gamble and the bigger the hole becomes,” he said during an earnings call last month. “This is a ma...
The European Central Bank should be cautious when considering raising interest rates as the full impact of the Iran war on economic expansion is still to be felt, Vice President Luis de Guindos told the Financial Times. An energy shock is usually reflected in inflation indicators much more rapidly than in growth indicators, Guindos said in an interview published Monday, adding that he expects inco...
The European Central Bank should be cautious when considering raising interest rates as the full impact of the Iran war on economic expansion is still to be felt, Vice President Luis de Guindos told the Financial Times. An energy shock is usually reflected in inflation indicators much more rapidly than in growth indicators, Guindos said in an interview published Monday, adding that he expects incoming data on activity “are not going to be good.” “That’s why I would call for prudence: the impact on growth is going to become much more visible over the coming weeks,” said the Spanish official, whose term finishes this month. “And we need additional clarity with respect to the conflict.” While the ECB kept borrowing costs steady on April 30, it signaled that a rate increase will be considered at June’s meeting. Slovak central-bank chief Peter Kazimir has since said a move is “all but inevitable,” and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said he’d expect one unless the outlook improves “markedly.” Other policymakers are more cautious, highlighting the need to assess more data. Euro-area inflation is up to 3%, but economic sentiment is deteriorating and the full implications of the fighting are still unclear. President Christine Lagarde said last week that the ECB is “constantly torn between the risk of reacting too quickly or the risk of reacting too late, and we have to find the right path to navigate our economies toward that 2% medium-term inflation.” Asked about June’s meeting , Guindos said he “never tried to preempt the rate decision” and repeated that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is going to be “very important.” “Let’s see the data over the coming weeks, let’s see the projections, let’s see what happens with the conflict,” he said. “Even if we have a truce or a peace agreement soon, the conflict is going to leave a mark because some infrastructure has been destroyed.” While he called the situation around wages “stable” and argued that inflation expectations...
undefined China’s exports and imports grew much faster than expected in April, fueled by strong demand for semiconductors and computing equipment tied to the global artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom. Exports rose 14.1% from a year earlier in dollar terms, while imports climbed 25.3%, customs data showed Saturday. The figures beat forecasts in a Caixin survey of 12 financial institutions...
undefined China’s exports and imports grew much faster than expected in April, fueled by strong demand for semiconductors and computing equipment tied to the global artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom. Exports rose 14.1% from a year earlier in dollar terms, while imports climbed 25.3%, customs data showed Saturday. The figures beat forecasts in a Caixin survey of 12 financial institutions, where economists projected average growth of 7.1% for exports and 16.1% for imports. China’s Strong Trade Growth A sharp rebound in exports to the U.S. helped lift China’s overall exports, with shipments there rising 11.3% in April after falling 26.5% the previous month, reversing months of double-digit declines. The rebound was driven in part by strong AI demand, as heavy spending by U.S. tech giants on data centers and computing infrastructure boosted imports of tech products from East Asia, including China.
Up to 150 passengers and crew from Hantavirus-hit MV Hondius start flying home aboard military and government planes from Spain’s Canary Islands The complex operation to repatriate passengers and crew of the hantavirus-hit cruise ship, the MV Hondius, is almost complete. Up to 150 people have started flying home aboard military and government planes from Spain’s Canary Islands, and the World Healt...
Up to 150 passengers and crew from Hantavirus-hit MV Hondius start flying home aboard military and government planes from Spain’s Canary Islands The complex operation to repatriate passengers and crew of the hantavirus-hit cruise ship, the MV Hondius, is almost complete. Up to 150 people have started flying home aboard military and government planes from Spain’s Canary Islands, and the World Health Organization has recommended, but not mandated, a 42-day quarantine once they have landed. Continue reading...