The Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday said the lower growth recorded in the economy in first quarter of 2020 was expected to dip slightly but with combined monetary and fiscal stimulus, the country may avoid a recession.

The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said this in Abuja at the end of the MPC 273th meeting held virtually.

The MPC reduced the Monetary Policy Rate to 12.5 per cent from 13.5 per cent.

It however retained the Cash Reserve Ratio and the liquidity ratio at 27.5 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.

Emefiele said available output data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that real Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.87 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 compared with 2.55 and 2.10 per cent in the preceding and corresponding quarters of 2019 respectively.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday submitted a revised 2020 budget of 10.51 trillion naira ($29.19 billion) to Parliament for approval.

The coronavirus pandemic and an oil price plunge have magnified headwinds in Africa’s biggest economy, which relies heavily on crude sales for government revenues. The problems triggered a decline in growth and large financing needs as well as weakening the naira currency.

The government has said since March that the budget passed in December would be revised down. It must be approved by lawmakers, who can make changes, before being sent back to the president to pass into law after he has agreed to any revisions.

Dozens of travel firms and hotel owners have said the UK should scrap plans to force visitors to quarantine on arrival.

From 8 June, people entering the UK from abroad will be told to isolate for 14 days or face a £1,000 fine.

The holiday firms and hotels are however worried that will be bad for business.

In a letter to the Home Secretary Priti Patel, they say the policy would reduce visitor numbers and may make it harder for Brits to travel abroad.

The letter, which is signed by more than 70 travel bosses, says the sector is severely challenged.

The White House has said US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order targeting social media firms.

It comes after he threatened to shut down social media platforms he accused of stifling conservative voices.

The latest dispute emerged after Twitter added fact-check links to his tweets for the first time.

The order's details have not been shared and it is unclear what regulatory steps the president can take without new laws passed by Congress.

White House officials gave no further information on what is expected in the executive order which is set to be signed on Thursday.

EasyJet is to cut up to 30% of its workforce as it struggles to cope with the collapse in demand for air travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline however did not disclose the exact number jobs to go, but it employed 15,000 people at the start of 2020.

Pilots' union Balpa reacted angrily, describing the move as an ill-considered knee-jerk reaction.

EasyJet, which has big operations at Gatwick and Luton airports, confirmed it would restart flights on 15 June.

it however said that levels of market demand seen in 2019 were not likely to be reached again until 2023.

It added that in the coming days, it would launch an employee consultation process on the planned job cuts.

Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba on Wednesday said Zambia has picked French company Lazard Freres to provide advisory services regarding liability management for its debt portfolio.

The finance ministry said in March it was looking for financial advisers to help ensure the sustainability of its debt and manage any loans maturing from next year and beyond.

Yamba in a statement said the proposed contract is a maximum of $5 million, which is negotiable by mutual agreement and payable based on work done in three years,

Yamba further said the government of Zambia intends to use the services of the financial advisers in line with signed agreements with lenders.

The South African rand firmed to its strongest in nearly nine weeks on Thursday, with market sentiment boosted by optimism over recovering global growth as economies reopen after coronavirus lockdowns.

The rand traded at 17.3100 per dollar at 0615 GMT, up nearly 0.4% from its previous close and its strongest since March 27.

The optimism over a global economic recovery trumped immediate concerns about a stand-off between the United States and China over Hong Kong.

A top official in the governing African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday said South Africa is planning projects worth $20.5 billion in sectors such as transport, energy and water as it looks to drive an economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

Paul Mashatile, the ANC’s treasurer general, told a video conference organised by think tank Chatham House that the infrastructure projects would soon be approved by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet after talks with the private sector and multilateral development banks.

He added that the projects would focus on areas such as railways, ports, energy, information technology, water and sanitation and housing.

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, COPEC, insists that Liquefied Petroleum Gas supplied to Oil Marketing Companies by the Ghana National Gas Company is more expensive than imported LPG.

COPEC had earlier called on the Ministry of Energy to address the anomaly which it says had contributed to an increase in the price of LPG in some parts of the country.

COPEC said despite the price differentials, some Oil Marketing Companies are being compelled under a policy of zonalisation to buy the Atuabo Gas and sell to consumers.

The Ghana National Gas Company Limited however debunked the claims, and described them as misleading and mischievous.

But the Executive Secretary COPEC, Duncan Amoah, has told Citi Business News Ghana Gas is not being honest.

The World Bank has approved $346m for two projects aimed at strengthening resilience and livelihoods in the Lake Chad region.

A statement from the World Bank on Wednesday explained that the projects, to be financed through the International Development Association, would be shared by Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria.

The Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project for North Eastern Nigeria, Additional Financing will help the Federal Government to improve access to basic services and livelihood opportunities for crisis-affected communities in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

The project will also enhance coordination among the states and other Lake Chad countries.

The project, according to the World Bank, expands the ongoing $200m MCRP project and puts an emphasis on support for agricultural livelihoods and investments.