Zimstat on Tuesday said Zimbabwe’s inflation rose to 785.55% year-on-year in May from 765.57% the previous month, as citizens grapple with rising prices of basic goods and a weakening currency.

Zimstat said on a month-on-month basis inflation slowed to 15.13% from 17.64% during the same period.

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The Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana Bill 2019, has been passed by Parliament after nearly two decades of anticipation by marketers.

It was passed on Thursday after the third reading in Parliament.

The Bill, when finally assented to by the President, will mean that, CIMG will now have the requisite legal backing to set standards for the practice of Marketing, and regulate the practice of the Marketing profession in Ghana.

The Bill also empowers CIMG to provide education and training, and conduct professional examinations locally.

The National President of CIMG, Dr. Daniel Kasser Tee while commenting on the passage in an interview with the Business & Financial Times said the bill’s eventual passage brings huge relief to Marketers, as CIMG will now have the requisite legal backing to set standards for the practice of marketing and regulate the marketing profession’s in Ghana.

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Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said the nation’s refineries generated a total revenue of N3.45bn in 2018 but their salary expenses and other expenses gulped N160.13bn.

It also disclosed that its investment arm made a profit of N1.02tn within the year.

The NNPC said these in its audited financial statements made public on Monday.

Payment of salaries, wages and allowances to workers at the ailing refineries accounted for more than a third (33.49 per cent) of the total expenses.

The refineries, which are located in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri, have a combined installed capacity of 445,000 barrels per day but have continued to operate far below the installed capacity.

The Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited did not generate any revenue in the year under review but it incurred a total cost of N64.68bn, comprising N24.69bn direct cost and N39.99bn administrative expenses.

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The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Monday said Nigeria was losing an average of $29bn to power sector failure.

Lawan stated this in Abuja while declaring open an investigative public hearing on the ‘Power Sector Recovery Plan and the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic.’

He charged the Senate Committee on Power, the organisers of the event, to look at what had happened to the agreement signed in 2013 on the privatisation of power sector.

He said some authorities said Nigeria loses about $29bn every year because of lack of sufficient and stable power.

The Senate President said the National Assembly wanted to see a power sector that would provide steady and regular supply of power because that is what the country needs.

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The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, on Monday, reeled out the recovery plan of the Federal Government to save the power sector from collapse.

Ahmed spoke at an investigative public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Power.

She said the picture was not as gloomy as being painted since the Federal Government had embarked on series of recovery plans for the sector.

The minister said part of the recovery plan for the sector was the N1.3tn already facilitated for it from the World Bank and other international creditors as payment assurance facility.

The minister said, work on revamping the power sector is in progress and will start bearing fruits in no distant time.

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The International Monetary Fund has estimated additional spending of 18 percentage points of Gross Domestic Product by 2030 for Nigeria to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

It stated this in its report on, Technical assistance report––additional spending toward Sustainable Development Goals,” for May 2020, which was released on Monday.

The IMF noted that Nigeria faced serious development gaps added that half of the student-age population is enrolled in schools.

It added that roads are in precarious condition. Less than four per cent of the population have access to safely managed water.

Overall, Nigeria’s indicators of human and physical capital are worse than countries with lower GDP per capita.

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The Federal Government has sacked Marilyn Amobi from office as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc.

Amobi, who was replaced by the company’s General Counsel and Secretary, Nnaemeka Eweluka, was in December 2019 removed from office after the Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, ordered her to vacate the position.

President Muhammadu Buhari overruled the dismissal of Amobi as NBET’s boss in a memo issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, in which the embattled MD was directed to return to office.

After the return order, NBET was reportedly moved from the Federal Ministry of Power to the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Aaron Artimas, the power minister stated that the removal of Amobi was part of the reorganisation process in the sector.

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Still on the aviation industry, the boss of EasyJet says he would feel "100% safe" flying on full planes as the airline resumed a limited number of flights after a 10-week hiatus.

Johan Lundgren told the PA news agency the airline had followed international guidelines to step up hygiene ahead of a resumption of services on Monday.

Passengers and crew will wear masks and planes will be deep-cleaned often.

But passengers will not have to sit 2-metres apart, despite calls for middle seats to remain empty for social distancing.

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China's second-biggest airline is to launch a new carrier despite a severe global downturn in passengers caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

China Eastern has joined forces with a range of partners including China's biggest online travel agency Trip.com.

The new airline will be focused on the island destination of Hainan, home to eight million and a free-trade hub.

Government-backed China Eastern will own a majority 51% share in the new carrier, which will be called Sanya International Airlines.

Other backers include Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines and a unit of Trip.com according to an announcement made to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday. No timeframe was given for the launch of the new airline, which will need regulatory approval.

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BP has forecast lower oil prices for decades to come as governments speed up plans to cut carbon emissions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The oil company has cut price forecasts by about 30 per cent, and expects Brent crude to average 55 dollars a barrel from now until 2050.

As a result, the oil giant says it will downwardly revise the value of its assets by between 13 and 17.5 billion dollars.

BP said it would have to become a "leaner, faster-moving and lower cost organisation". Last week, the firm announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs following a global slump in demand for oil.

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