Turkey was among the world's fastest growing economies in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic. While much of the world sank into recession, Turkish GDP grew 1.8-percent last year as banks stepped-up lending and the government rolled-out support for businesses. And Ankara's expected to implement more reforms to keep the momentum going. Mobin Nasir reports. For more on this, Ceyhun Elgin joined us from Istanbul. He's a professor of economics at Bogazici University.

#TurkeyEconomy #Lira #Pandemic

Sports card trading has gained widespread attention across the US in the past year. Some of the most valued cards now fetch millions, while others offer better returns than some major stock indices. Albert Han looks at the trading card market in the US and what’s fueling the frenzy.

#CarTrading #SportsMemorabilia #TradingCardMarket

Campaigns like Dry January and Feb Fast are popularising the idea of giving up alcohol for short periods. But that thirst for moderation is now expanding to year-round. And as consumers look for less boozy beverages, even premium bars and brands are making a sobering choice. Miranda Lin has more.

#Franceconsumers #NonAlcoholicBeverages #FebFast

South Africa's finance minister has laid out a budget that he says will ease financial pressures on households and businesses during the pandemic. It allocates 870-million dollars for job creation, at a time when around one-third of workers are unemployed. Tito Mboweni has also announced the government won't substantially increase personal or corporate taxes. Some of the sectors calling for relief from the state have been the events, arts and entertainment industries. Ntshepeng Motema reports on how they've been impacted by COVID-19.

#SouthAfrica #Budget #SmallBusinesses

South Africa's finance minister has laid out a budget that he says will ease financial pressures on households and businesses during the pandemic. It allocates 870-million dollars for job creation, at a time when around one-third of workers are unemployed. Tito Mboweni has also announced the government won't substantially increase personal or corporate taxes. Some of the sectors calling for relief from the state have been the events, arts and entertainment industries. Ntshepeng Motema reports on how they've been impacted by COVID-19.

#SouthAfrica #Budget #SmallBusinesses

Israel is on track to lift all social distancing restrictions in the coming months thanks to a world-leading roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines. Officials have distributed injections made by Moderna and Pfizer- BioNTech, which is proving to be as good as the trials have promised. But as Paolo Montecillo reports, the government's been happy to ignore a large part of the population.

For mor on this we spoke to to Middle East analyst Meir Javedanfar, who joins us from Tel Aviv.

#Israel #Vaccinations #PfizerBioNTech

While the pandemic has caused an economic fallout in many sectors worldwide, some are still going strong. One example is branded residences. For prospective buyers, they offer the comforts of home-living with the amenities associated with hotels. Albert Han takes a look at the appeal of branded residences, and whether they're the future for some of the world's top luxury hotel chains.

#BrandedResidences #LuxuryHotelChains #Property

Brazil's favelas are notorious for their high rates of poverty, crime, and violence. And during pandemic lockdowns, the situation has become more desperate. But as Miranda Lin explains, the sprawling shanty towns are finding help - from within.

#Brazil #Favela #FinancialIstution

As South Africa's finance minister, Tito Mboweni was delivering the national budget, hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike across the country. They're calling for higher wages, particularly in the health sector, and better safety nets for people who've lost their jobs during the pandemic. Unemployment in South Africa reached record levels at the end of last year, and unions say the government hasn't done nearly enough for those who are most affected by the crisis. Our correspondent Nn-tse-peng Motema was at a protest in Johannesburg, and sent us this report.

#SouthAfrica #Jobs #LabourUnions

Turning to South Africa now, where President Cyril Rama-posa's administration is pressing pause on income tax increases, despite concerns over the rising amount of debt held by the state. In a speech to parliament, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the priority would be addressing the continent's worst outbreak of COVID-19. To that end, Mboweni says the government plans to spend more than 700-million dollars over the next three years to buy vaccines. He says higher spending will help Africa's most industrialised economy grow more than 3-percent this year, after last year's contraction of 7-percent.

#SouthAfrica #Budget #TaxCollection