Fidelity Bank launches action plan to promote genderinclusive banking
Monday 16 January 2023 Issue No. 2
A NEW THINKING Why do Ghanaians do so great as individuals, but flunk as a corporate? My Theory Pg
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A better year for stock markets?
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By Jim O’Neill
Although it has been almost a decade since I gave up a full-time job in finance, markets – and market oddities – still fascinate me, especially when they send signals that run against a widely held consensus among analysts and investors. Given all the disappointments in 2022, the outlook for the new year is quite downbeat. Major corporations are announcing layoffs, and the International Monetary Fund is forecasting that at least one in three countries will experience a recession this year. The reasons for such pessimism are not hard to find. The big inflationary surprises of 2022 triggered a massive and rapid tightening of monetary policies in most major economies, and key central banks have continued to talk tough. Although the US Federal Reserve reduced the size of its interest-rate hikes from 75 basis points to 50 bps in December, it has made clear that more rate hikes are likely – and that a rate cut is not in the cards for 2023. Making matters worse, many other problems, like Russia’s war in Ukraine, continue to simmer, threatening supply chains, markets, and economies around the world.
At some point in my career, I was introduced to an old almanac that offered an endless array of heuristics about US stock markets’ past performance. One nugget that always stuck with me is the five-day rule: If the S&P 500 index makes a net gain during the first five trading days of the calendar year, equities will perform well for the year overall. When I asked my colleagues to check it for the 1950-2014 period, they found that it held true more than 80% of the time. Well, in the first five days of 2023, the market rose by just over 1%, which means there is over an 80% chance that it will be positive on the year – at least according to the five-day rule. But before you rush to buy your favorite stocks, let me add a few obvious caveats. First, the stock market tends to rise more than it falls: down years are nowhere close to as frequent as up years. This is not particularly surprising, considering the prominent role that equity markets play in finance. Second, the five-day rule is not airtight. There is almost a 20% chance that a rising market during the first five trading days ends up being down on the year. Ultimately, economic condi-
Chinese Foreign Minister renews support for Africa's development By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
After his appointment as the new Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, chose to pay a working visit to Africa. Without mincing words, this choice has multiple geopolitical implications and significance for further strengthening relations between China and Africa. In fact, details are not needed here, but readers could guess and imagine what these mean to both
China and Africa. At a glance, Minister Qin Gang was in Addis Ababa, the East African city and the capital of Ethiopia, the headquarters of the continental organization popularly referred to as African Union.
According to various reports, the Chinese Foreign Minister held discussions with African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. The bilateral talks are related
SSNIT increases pensions by 25% The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has increased monthly pension payments by an average of 25 per cent. The review will see all 234,000 legitimate pensioners on the SSNIT pension payroll as of the end of December 2022 have their monthly pensions increased by a fixed rate of 19 per cent, plus a redistributed flat amount of GH¢73.58. Redistribution is a mechanism applied to the rate (indexation rate) to cushion members on low pensions, in conformity with the solidarity principle of social security. 3
By the increment, the minimum paid pensioner will receive GH¢430.58 while the highest paid pensioner receives GH¢169,725.89. The Director-General of SSNIT, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang, who announced this at a press conference in Accra today ( January 13), said the projected expenditure on pensions only for 2023 will be GH 4.3 billion, GH 850 million more than last year. He said, “the Trust remains committed to paying all legitimate benefits accurately and timeously.”
to various strategic development issues in which China largely plays appreciable roles for the benefit of Africa and its people. There is no need listing all the development questions here, but one important point is that Qin Gang's visit was principally connected to ribbon cutting ceremony marking the completion of the newly constructed 2
Gov’t launches SME High Growth Programme -Ghc160m earmarked -2,000 SMEs targeted By Eugene Davis
Businesses with potential to export, expand their markets, grow at an accelerated rate that can create employment are eligible to apply for government’s newly introduced SME High Growth Programme under the Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP), CEO of Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Kosi Yankey-Ayeh has said. The SME High Growth Pro-
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