(Bloomberg) — Nigeria’s efforts to carry out urgent fiscal reforms will face “social and institutional constraints” even after a new president is elected next month, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Pension Funds in Historic Surplus Eye $1 Trillion of Bond-Buying
Adani’s Detailed Hindenburg Reply Now Said to Be Post-Share Sale
Adani Rout Crosses $51 Billion as Stocks Plunge by Daily Limits
Putin Plans New Ukraine Push Despite Losses as He Prepares for Years of War
A Billionaire’s Luxury Development Fuels Fight Over Texas Hill Country
The comments came as the ratings service late Friday downgraded Nigeria’s long-term foreign debt rating to Caa1 from B3 with a stable outlook.
The downgrade of Africa’s largest economy was tied to the expectation that the government’s fiscal and debt position will continue to deteriorate, Moody’s said.
“Depressed and uncertain oil production, capital outflows amid flight to quality and the government’s constrained access to external funding will likely continue to weigh on Nigeria’s external position in 2023,” Moody’s said.
While the emergence of a new president after elections on Feb. 25 could provide a new catalyst for economic reforms, “implementation will likely remain lengthy amid marked social and institutional constraints,” Moody’s said.
How Young Voters Can Shake Up Nigeria’s Next Election: QuickTake
“Fiscal pressure from falling oil production, the increasingly costly oil subsidy as well as rising interest rates will likely persist over the next couple of years,” it said.
Nigeria’s election has sparked unprecedented interest, especially form young people hoping for a change from the economic woes of the last seven years, which have been marked by slow growth, soaring unemployment, heightened insecurity and an exodus of the educated elite.
Even so, “weak institutional capacity” and entrenched vested interests are likely to hinder the next president from quickly addressing the challenges of the country of some 216 million people.
Nigeria’s new government will also struggle to balancing paying interest on debt with other social priorities like education and health care, according to Moody’s.
Interest payments are expected to rise to half of general government revenue over the medium term from about 35% in 2022, while debt as a proportion of gross domestic product will rise to 45%, from 34% in 2022 and 19% in 2019, according to Moody’s assessment.
“Funding conditions are likely to remain tight,” Moody’s Investors Service said.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
How to Be 18 Years Old Again for Only $2 Million a Year
The US Hasn’t Noticed That China-Made Cars Are Taking Over the World
Giving Four Months’ Notice or Paying to Quit Has These Workers Feeling Trapped
Even $370 Billion in US Incentives Won’t Solve All of Solar’s Struggles
A Bet on a Busted Airline Is Poised for a $100 Million Payoff
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Los Angeles and seven other counties plan to join Gov. Gavin Newsom's program that aims to reduce homelessness by compelling mental health treatment.
Julian Khater admitted to pepper-spraying the U.S. Capitol Police officer, who died after suffering two strokes.
Portraits of communities devastated by the worst recorded floods in Nigeria.
A New Jersey man who joined a mob's attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Friday to more than six years in prison for using pepper spray to assault police officers, one of whom died a day after the siege. Julian Khater didn't mention the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick or address the officer's family in a written statement he read aloud before U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan sentenced him to six years and eight months of imprisonment. Khater wasn't charged in the officer's death.
(Bloomberg) — Dozens of Nigerians queued at an ATM machine in the heart of the country’s commercial hub on Friday morning to get new higher denomination naira notes ahead of a Jan. 31 deadline that will render old bills expired. Most Read from BloombergPension Funds in Historic Surplus Eye $1 Trillion of Bond-BuyingAdani’s Detailed Hindenburg Reply Now Said to Be Post-Share SaleAdani Rout Crosses $51 Billion as Stocks Plunge by Daily LimitsPutin Plans New Ukraine Push Despite Losses as He Prepa
Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss the decline in stock for Intel.
Several social media posts recently claimed that the vice-presidential candidate of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said he was “sick and unfit” ahead of February’s elections. The posts implied that Kashim Shettima said he was not fit to run. However, this is misleading: while he acknowledged in a Facebook Live session that he was diabetic and had high blood pressure, he said both he and the APC’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, were both healthy enough to stand for electio
(Bloomberg) — Chinese firms are beating their US and European peers early in the year on equity financing, aided by optimism about the nation’s reopening while the developed world grapples with rising interest rates and recession fears.Most Read from BloombergPension Funds in Historic Surplus Eye $1 Trillion of Bond-BuyingAdani’s Detailed Hindenburg Reply Now Said to Be Post-Share SaleAdani Rout Crosses $51 Billion as Stocks Plunge by Daily LimitsPutin Plans New Ukraine Push Despite Losses as H
(Bloomberg) — Pakistan has taken a first step toward reviving its bailout program with the International Monetary Fund by easing its control on the currency, which is among a slew of other decisions to be taken by the government to meet conditions set by the global leader.Most Read from BloombergPension Funds in Historic Surplus Eye $1 Trillion of Bond-BuyingAdani’s Detailed Hindenburg Reply Now Said to Be Post-Share SaleAdani Rout Crosses $51 Billion as Stocks Plunge by Daily LimitsPutin Plans
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz heads to Argentina on Saturday for the first leg of his inaugural tour of South America as his government seeks to reduce Germany's economic dependence on China and strengthen relations with democracies worldwide. On the three-day tour, Scholz, a Social Democrat, will visit the region's three top economies – Argentina, Chile and Brazil -, all currently led by leftist leaders in the region's new "pink tide".
Robert Half sees revenue for temporary and permanent job placement drop in December and first weeks of January, leading to mixed first-quarter guidance.
DirecTV’s decision this week to drop Newsmax is the latest blow to a handful of conservative media outlets that have sought to carve out a space for themselves in the wake of former President Trump’s election loss in 2020. While the far-right ecosystem has exploded over the decision, with figures including Trump accusing DirecTV of…
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal need to learn to be ruthless against Manchester City after Nathan Ake's goal earned Pep Guardiola's men a 1-0 win in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday. Guardiola had made just one outfield change from City's 3-0 win over Wolves.
(Bloomberg) — House Republicans are threatening to challenge Democrat Ilhan Omar’s seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee as soon as next week, lining up a potential floor fight Speaker Kevin McCarthy risks losing. Most Read from BloombergPension Funds in Historic Surplus Eye $1 Trillion of Bond-BuyingAdani’s Detailed Hindenburg Reply Now Said to Be Post-Share SaleAdani Rout Crosses $51 Billion as Stocks Plunge by Daily LimitsPutin Plans New Ukraine Push Despite Losses as He Prepares for Y
Fox NewsCriminal defense attorney and regular Fox News guest Brian Claypool was left utterly humiliated on Friday when he suggested there was no evidence that Paul Pelosi’s attacker broke into his home—all despite the release of a security video showing exactly that.In fact, Fox News anchors had to air the actual footage of the break-in for Claypool, who had just appeared on the network the night before to discuss the impending release of the tapes.Debunking a slew of right-wing conspiracies abo
'Trump Organization' is branding shorthand, so it can't be sued, the defendants said repeatedly in the lengthy court filing.
Turkey warned its citizens on Saturday against "possible Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks" in the United States and Europe after its Western allies cautioned their citizens in Turkey about possible terror attacks. In two separate travel advisories, the Turkish foreign ministry recommended its citizens in the United States and European countries "act calmly in the face of possible xenophobic and racist harassment and attacks" and to "stay away from areas where demonstrations may intensify."
Let's try to consider the potential disintegration of Russia from a historical perspective
Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/GettyRussia is building up a network of fortifications and trenches along the front in Ukraine, in apparent anticipation of a new round of heavy fighting, according to satellite imagery analysis shared exclusively with The Daily Beast.The analysis from Brady Africk, an open-source intelligence analyst, shows that Russia is building up fortifications all along the front in Luhansk, from the Russian border down to Donetsk, and throughout Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.The
Ukraine expects to receive 24 modern fighter jets from partner nations, Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said in a comment to Spanish daily newspaper El País on Jan. 28.
