US Fed slashes rates

🪓US federal reserve slashes rates by 0.5%

When the US sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. Chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell, announced yesterday in Washington, DC that it would be slashing rates by 0.5%. The interest rate cut brings the US’s benchmark rates between 4.75 - 5.00%, the first cut in rates in four years. For countries such as Kenya, this could be a good sign as foreign inflows typically increase while we may also see a boost in prices for stocks and bonds from emerging markets as they have typically outperformed US stocks and bonds during easing cycles such as this. Why should Kenya care? 

😡Kenyan tea farmers are pissed off

Tea farmers in the South Rift region have taken to the streets (and some to the fields themselves) to protest several factories unfairly dropping prices for the green leaf. Farmers are demanding transparency from their respective factory directors on how tea bonuses are calculated. Despite the outrage, the industry has been struggling for years facing an oversupply with over 100M kilos remaining unsold at Mombasa Tea Auction. Kenya’s tea industry continues to dwindle. 

👎Counties fall short of revenue expectations

Collection of revenue in Kenya’s 47 counties fell drastically short of expectations in the financial year 2023/24 affecting development and payment of suppliers during the period. The Controller of Budget, Margaret Nyakango says in the FY 2023/24, the County Governments managed to raise Kshs.58.95 billion from local revenue sources, which accounted for 72.8% of the cumulative annual local revenue target of Kshs.80.94 billion. The lowest performance by counties include Nyandarua at 42.1%, Machakos at 46.5%, and Mandera at 50.8% among others. Why are counties failing to collect revenue? 

Don’t miss out on these other stories

Video of the Day