An official document released shows the Tunisia government seeks a loan guarantee from bilateral partners to issue sovereign bonds this year.

Tunisia’s vital tourism sector could lose $1.4 billion and 400,000 jobs this year due to the new coronavirus pandemic,

In a letter sent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that was reviewed by Reuters, Tunisia’s central bank governor and finance minister said the country’s economy would shrink by up to 4.3%, the steepest drop since independence in 1956.

The outbreak is hammering its tourism sector which represents nearly 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) and is a key source of foreign currency.

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The Managing Director, NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, Mr. Abubakar Kure, confirmed that over 80,000 applications have been received from businesses and individuals after the Central Bank of Nigeria released the guidelines for the N50bn targeted credit facility.

The CBN said those who will benefit from this scheme are those who have evidence of livelihood affected by COVID-19 and existing enterprises with verifiable evidence of business activities adversely affected by COVID-19.

Giving a breakdown of the 80,000 applications, the NIRSAL MD said that 40,000 applications were from households while 30,000 applications were received from the SMEs.

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First National Bank Ghana Limited has announced a 2% interest rate cut on loans to all existing customers from 01 April 2020 for the length of time until a loan is due of all Ghana-cedi denominated loan facilities.

According to the bank, the offer, which is part of the bank’s #RealHelp package is to cushion customers impacted by COVID-19.

The Bank also announced that customers have the opportunity to apply for repayment holidays, where a temporary moratorium will be placed on the loan repayments for up to six months.

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The International Monetary Fund said the global economy is expected to shrink by 3.0% during 2020 in a stunning coronavirus-driven collapse of activity that will mark the steepest downturn.

The IMF, in its 2020 World Economic Outlook, predicted a partial rebound in 2021, with the world economy growing at a 5.8% rate, but said its forecasts were marked by “extreme uncertainty” and that outcomes could be far worse, depending on the course of the pandemic.

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Shares in South African lender Nedbank fell over 9% at market open on Wednesday, a day after the lender withdrew its financial guidance for 2020 and put some key targets under review due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decline in the bank’s stock, which was trading 9.61% lower by 0717 GMT, compared to a 5.5% fall in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s banks index.

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The International Energy Agency on Wednesday said Global oil demand is likely to drop by a record 9.3 million barrels per day in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic brings mobility almost to a halt.

Demand in April is estimated to be 29 million barrels a day lower than a year ago, down to a level last seen in 1995, the agency added in its latest monthly Oil Market Report, while demand in the second quarter of this year is expected to be 23.1 million barrels a day below year-ago levels.

U.S. crude oil prices fell below the $20 a barrel level in response, while Brent futures, the international benchmark, fell back below $30. At 4:20 AM ET (0820 GMT), U.S. crude futures traded 3.4% lower at $19.43 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 5% to $28.12.

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The founder and boss of Amazon wealth swell by $24bn (£19bn) after soaring demand for online shopping sent the firm's share price to a new high.

According to Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos now has a fortune of $138bn Billionaires Index, cementing his position as the world's richest man.

Amazon has benefited from surging internet shopping by people forced to stay home during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The firm has been recruiting thousands of workers to cope with demand.

Amazon has also been criticised by employees in the US over workplace protection against the coronavirus. Mr. Bezos owns an 11% stake in Amazon and on Tuesday, the firm's shares rose by 5.3%.

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The US has agreed a roughly $25bn (£19.8bn) rescue package for 10 of the country's biggest airlines as travel plunges due to the coronavirus.

American Airlines, United, Delta and Southwest are among the recipients.

The money is to be used for payroll and will be provided through a combination of low-cost loans and direct grants.

Congress had planned for the aid as part of its roughly $2tn emergency relief bill last month but airlines had been negotiating the deal.

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The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board has approved support for Burkina Faso and Niger under its Rapid Credit Facility to help the West African nations confront the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fund said.

In the statement released late on Tuesday, the IMF said the board had approved a $115 million disbursement for Burkina Faso and another $114 million for Niger.

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SoftBank Group Corp’s estimate it will post a record $13 billion full-year loss, dragged down by its spluttering $100 billion Vision Fund, has renewed attention on a planned asset sell-down aimed at raising cash and restoring confidence.

SoftBank shares fell as much as 4% on Tuesday before recovering to close up 5% after the group late on Monday said it sees a 1.8 trillion yen ($16.7 billion) full-year loss at the Vision Fund as its tech bets crumble.

The disastrous performance at the fund on which Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has staked his reputation will drag the entire group to its largest annual loss, underscoring the need for his plan to raise up to 4.5 trillion yen through asset sales.

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