Cuba: "The regime is expected to disclose details on Monday of a major policy shift Díaz-Canel announced last week, allowing members of the Cuban diaspora to invest in the cash-strapped island and own companies and property there." www.wsj.com/world/americ...

Ethiopia: "Many other people remained missing since the tragedy struck the Gamo Zone area on Tuesday, officials said. Search and recovery efforts have taken place for days and have been hampered by heavy rain still pounding the area." apnews.com/article/ethi...

From the article: "The [South Africa] finance ministry was trying to incentivise local governments, including Johannesburg, to “ringfence” the revenue it collected from water rates and plough it back into service provision."

NBER working papers website www.nber.org/papers/w34926

IMF Board calendar serving as a reminder to confirm that yes, indeed, the inaugural IMF Article IV staff report for the Principality of Liechtenstein from over a year ago has still not been published.

"Senegal is falling behind on payments to other lenders such as France, Britain, Italy and Spain, five sources familiar ​with the situation told Reuters ..."

WSJ: "More farmers than usual waited to start buying [fertilizer] until the spring, when they expected their checks from the Trump administration’s $12-billion farm bailout ..."

"Carsten Brzeski, an economist at the Dutch bank ING, noted that tech companies, especially those specializing in artificial intelligence, are highly sensitive to interest rate changes." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/b...

Iran / AFP article with quotes from residents explaining current life: "One item that might seem trivial but has become impossible to find is wide adhesive tape: we stick it on windows to keep them from shattering from explosions." sg.news.yahoo.com/iran-shut-sh...

Pakistan / IMF program review mission: "While considerable progress was made in the discussions, these will continue in the coming days, including to more fully assess the impact of recent global developments on Pakistan’s economy and the EFF-supported program." www.imf.org/en/news/arti...

"But nitrogen fertilisers require natural gas for their chemical synthesis, and a lot of energy. As for sulfur, it is a co-product of the oil and gas industry. Where there is gas, you will find urea and ammonia," said the Argus's [Sarah] Marlow." sg.news.yahoo.com/war-disrupts...

From the article: "Disruption at Jebel Ali also has a knock-on effect for countries such as Somalia, Sudan and Yemen that depend on food routed through Dubai."

(AFP) "Nothing that goes up in price in Egypt comes back down, ever," said Walid Ibrahim, another cab driver, shaking his head at a petrol station." sg.news.yahoo.com/egyptians-fe...

WSJ: "Even more oil might have been able to head out via the Red Sea had another pipeline not fallen hostage to regional hostilities. At the start of 1990, Iraq and Saudi Arabia opened a massive pipeline that was supposed to take Baghdad’s crude all the way to Yanbu ..."

Turkmenistan: "According to an AFP journalist, mandarins in Ashgabat cost $1.90, apples more than $2 and a pack of cigarettes has risen to $3 -- pretty much double what they were." sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/iran-wa...

Mongolia / offer document for new Eurobonds, $500m 2032. Loaded with useful information including on principal mining projects (not least coal), the Development Bank of Mongolia (DBM), and public debt. links.sgx.com/1.0.0/prospe...

Bangladesh (AFP): "On Tuesday, [petrol] queues stretched for 1.5 km [] through Dhaka's city centre. "My boss left the car here & took a rickshaw to reach his destination," Kamrul Hasan, who was waiting in a vehicle almost at the end of the queue, told AFP." sg.news.yahoo.com/india-tighte...

India (AFP): "To meet the gap, gas supplied to petrochemical facilities and power plants would either be fully or partially curtailed. Indian industries including several ceramics and tile firms have already said they are facing a cutback in gas supplies that could impact production ..."

Egypt (Reuters): "The increases of about 14% to 17% on a wide range of petroleum products are the first this year and follow a hike of nearly 10.5% to 12.9% in October." www.msn.com/en-us/news/o...

"Unlike its neighbors, such as Indonesia and Thailand, which are partially shielded by fuel subsidies, prices at the pump in the Philippines are more market-driven." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/b...

"Vietnam currently imposes tariffs of 10 percent on unleaded gasoline and seven percent on diesel, aviation fuel and kerosene -- all of which have been slashed to zero effective immediately." sg.news.yahoo.com/vietnam-mull...

Kenya / Nairobi floods: "AFP reporters saw on Saturday heavily damaged roads and infrastructure from Nairobi's vast slums to upmarket areas ..."

“It’s difficult to say [] whether [Africa] will see net gains,” [Nick] Hedley [Zero Carbon Analytics] said. “Oil producers could benefit from higher crude prices, but ordinary citizens will likely face higher transport & fuel costs, & potentially higher interest rates.” apnews.com/article/iran...

WSJ: "Taiwan, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are more exposed, said [Ross] Wyeno [S&P Global]. He expects demand to fall in all four countries as well as bids to attract cargoes heading to Europe, ..."

Bangladesh: "Due to the current tensions, five of the country's six fertiliser factories have been closed until March 18, an official with the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, Ahsan Quddus Kuntal, told AFP." sg.news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-r...

NYT on impact on agricultural inputs of Gulf conflict: "If sulfur becomes scarce, that will be felt most acutely in Morocco, where factories use it to make phosphate fertilizer ..."

Nairobi: "Some residents blamed the flooding on clogged drainage systems, stating that city authorities ought to have prepared by ensuring there was functional drainage infrastructure ahead of the rainy season." apnews.com/article/keny...

IMF working paper: "Tenures of governors with politically motivated appointments are associated with higher and more volatile inflation, realized and expected." www.imf.org/en/publicati...

Gabon / IMF mission: "Discussions highlighted the potential benefits of ongoing reforms to improve public financial management, governance, the business climate and to fight corruption, and underscored the criticality of ensuring prudent fiscal ..."

"Senegal has announced a plan to close 19 govt agencies which account for around 1,000 jobs, with officials in the debt-burdened country expecting the move to save at least 55 bn CFA francs ($97.95 million) over the next three years, a statement said." www.cnbcafrica.com/2026/senegal...

Angola / World Bank DPF ($750m) plus guarantees ($240m + 2nd loss) to enable a debt for development swap: "The two guarantees will provide the Government of Angola with additional fiscal space to invest in its development priorities through a debt-for-development swap ..."

Zambia / IMF mission: “The authorities reiterated their interest in a successor arrangement. Staff emphasized that the next phase of engagement should focus on further strengthening macroeconomic stability & advancing reforms to improve the business climate & support private sector‑led growth ..."

For Iraq: "[Fraser McKay, Wood Mackenzie]. In the case of Iraq’s Rumaila field, which is in the process of shutting down, the loss of gross revenue each month is around $2.4bn, he estimated. Meanwhile, its operators will still have to bear its fixed operating costs of $750mn a year."

“Practically, it is very difficult for any navy to escort ships through that narrow strait,” said Ellis Morley, specialist in cargo and commodities at Howden, an insurance broker. “That horseshoe shape of the Strait keeps ships in the most dangerous area for a long time.” www.wsj.com/world/middle...

"The Egyptian petroleum ministry said in a statement the tanker was not bound for any of Egypt's ports and that it was not listed under supply or liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo contracts to the country." www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...

Emirate of Abu Dhabi / publication of a Eurobond program supplement & pricing supplement for new 2031 and 2036 bonds ($3bn). Date of the supplement is last Thursday (and therefore does not refer to the current conflict). Budget numbers likely to change. www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article...

Interesting terminology: "This has resulted in a number of “frustrated exports” — [gold & silver] goods that have already been submitted for customs clearance and must be formally withdrawn before they can be rerouted."

South Africa (Reuters): "Backed by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) & the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the five-year bond aims to finance ecological restoration, including removing invasive plants and rehabilitating catchment areas to enhance water security." www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...

"Only 16 times since 1983 has Brent crude gained more than 7% with gold down and bond yields up. More than half of those times stocks actually rose, and the S&P 500 never fell 2%, as it did at its low on Tuesday morning." www.wsj.com/finance/inve...

WSJ article on impact of the Middle East / Gulf conflict on GCC diversification strategies: "The escalation threatens the region’s broader ambitions, including Saudi Arabia’s multitrillion-dollar plan to diversify away from oil ..."

“We’re going to end up spending a lot more on the military, and it’s going to have implications for interest rates and inflation,” Mr. [Ken] Rogoff said. “That’s baked in the cake.” www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/b...

Minerals supply chain (Reuters): "Traffic through Kasumbalesa, the busiest crossing [to Zambia] for [DR] Congo’s metal shipments – mainly destined for China & the United States – was suspended on Sunday after heavy rains washed away a portion of the road." www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...

Excellent article in Lloyds List on impact of Middle East / Gulf conflict on container shipping: "Another major consequence of the Middle East war: is it has abruptly changed carrier plans to gradually return to the Red Sea ..."

St. Kitts & Nevis / IMF A4 mission: "Under a moderately frontloaded active policy scenario encompassing expenditure rationalization (4.4 pp of GDP) & tax revenue mobilization (2.7 pp of GDP), public debt would stabilize at the regional 60% ceiling by 2031." www.imf.org/en/news/arti...

"As conflict over Iran grew closer in recent weeks, some investors exited these trades, with foreign holdings of Egyptian debt falling by $2bn to $30bn according to Citigroup."

US Treasury / new sanctions against Rwanda Defence Force and named senior officials in it for involvement in the Eastern DRC conflict. home.treasury.gov/news/press-r...

A key point about Egypt: "Precautionary closures of Israel’s Leviathan and Karish gasfields add further pressure to global gas and LNG markets. These fields are key suppliers to Egypt, which imported close to 10 bcm from Israel last year."

"The markets on Khamenei had long predated the Feb. 28 strike. Polymarket started taking odds in Dec. on whether the Iranian leader would be out by April. Kalshi’s market differed slightly, with users able to take bets on whether he would be out by Sept., July, or April." www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Bangladesh / Market Financial Solutions (MFS) lender: "As an active politician when the loans were made, [Saifuzzaman] Chowdhury should have been subject to particular scrutiny, especially as his official asset declarations in Bangladesh listed his net worth at only around $2.3mn."

Malaysia / IMF 2025 A4 staff report. A very interesting case of sizable publicly guaranteed debt, around 17% of GDP, usually in connection with infrastructure projects but showing up in other sectors as well. www.imf.org/en/publicati...