Kenya Central Bank is ‘Actively Considering' Buying Gold
'We have basically a group that is looking at the feasibility of doing it and yes, that's something that we're actively considering,' Kamau Thugge said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Washington, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings. 'I wouldn't want to put a time-line to it.'
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NBC News
13 hours ago
- NBC News
Even at 1%, new tax will burden African immigrants who send money back home
A new remittance tax set to begin in the new year has one university student reeling from the implications it will have for her family in Nigeria. Edidiong Chrys, a second-generation Nigerian American, said she thinks the 1% tax passed as part of President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill ' would directly affect the financial lifeline she sends overseas. This tax will be applied to anyone in the U.S. who sends money abroad. 'We regularly send money home to support loved ones, including our elders, children in school, newborns and others in need,' she said. Chrys, 38, said some of the funds sent home have gone to new parents in her family, helping ease the cost of food and traveling to doctors' appointments. The funds also help her uncle, who has a job but also must pay for his five daughters, who are all in school. He and his wife work, but it's still not enough 'to accommodate all the things that need to hold the household down,' Chrys said. And then there's Chrys' 80-year-old grandmother, who was weathering back pain when Chrys visited in January. 'We are paying for the live-in nurse to help her during the week,' she said. 'That's an additional expense that we need to have for her so that she's not bending over.' The tax applies to anyone in the U.S. who sends remittances to their home countries. In 2023, remittances from the U.S. totaled $98 billion, according to the World Bank. Chrys contributes to the $56 billion in remittances sub-Saharan Africa received from people around the world last year. In fact, she said she regularly remits cash — more than 50 times a year — to family and friends. The Center for Global Development, a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on reducing global poverty through economic research, published an analysis last month that listed the tax as yet another financial setback for many nations, given the recent reduction in American aid. Liberia is highly dependent on foreign aid as well as remittances. In 2023, the U.S. accounted for a quarter of the country's foreign aid, and remittances surpassed Liberia's bilateral foreign aid by three times, according to the report. The African Union's outgoing ambassador to the United States, Hilda Suka-Mafudze, said hindering such funding 'threatens to reverse gains in financial inclusion and development across the continent of Africa.' Witney Schneidman, a nonresident senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution's Global Economy and Development program, said, 'To put this tax on is just a further constraint on the U.S. effort to work with our partners on the continent.' 'It's not transformational. ... It's just another obstacle to partnership, and it's another obstacle to development,' he said. Schneidman, who also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the Clinton administration, condemned the Trump administration for building barriers and not bridges. 'When you add it up with the visa blockages, with the end of the [African Growth and Opportunity Act] AGOA, with the end of USAID, it's just building a wall,' he said. 'The U.S. is building a wall between itself and the world and certainly between itself and Africa.' Suka-Mafudze, whose focus will turn toward the Southern African Development Community region, said that beyond hurting diplomatic ties, blocking remittances is also 'a human issue, because diaspora remittances are lifelines for millions of African families and these remittances often cover essentials, which are food, school fees, medical care and a lot of things. And to impose a tax on that is deeply unjust.' Chrys said the financial burden of sending money home is already heavy, with some stretching limited resources to make ends meet. 'Some people are not making as much to be able to try to support their family back home,' Chrys said. 'When I do get a chance to send money home, sometimes I'm spending it from my refund check.' Democratic Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida and Jonathan L. Jackson of Illinois introduced new legislation called the African Diaspora Investment and Development Act, or AIDA, aimed at reversing the tax's impact. It would also create more transparency in money transfers, among other things. Suka-Mafudze backs the legislation, warning the new tax 'could push people toward informal or unregulated channels, making transactions riskier and less transparent.' Cherfilus-McCormick, the only Haitian American member of Congress right now, warns that a remittance tax would unfairly burden families already struggling to support their loved ones overseas. 'I strongly oppose any effort to tax remittances and will continue fighting for policies that protect immigrant and diaspora communities,' she said in a statement. 'H.R.4586 — AIDA intends to reverse course and instead focus on incentivizing and leveraging on the nearly 100 billion of dollars that Haitian, African and Caribbean Americans send home each year to build sustainable partnerships and strengthen economic development.' Schneidman said the tax has the potential to impact education, health care and families because the bulk of the remittances are family-to-family. That reality is felt most by those sending the money, who see firsthand how even small amounts can make a big difference. 'In the U.S., it might feel like, 'Oh, that's nothing.'' Chrys said. But in Nigeria, 'It's everything because every little money counts.'
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
Gold analyst warns of 2011-style 'blow-off top'
Carley Garner is a long-time futures trader who has seen a thing or two over a career that has lasted over twenty years, including gold market rallies and sell-offs. The massive rally in gold stocks this year to north of $3,357 per ounce has caught her attention, and not in a good way. Gold prices are up over 28% year-to-date in 2025, and the size and speed of the move (and the reasons behind it) remind her of a similar rally 14 years ago in 2011. Back then, the outcome for gold bugs wasn't fun. "The 2011 top was met with a 45% haircut that took nearly a decade to recover," according to Garner. Gold has enjoyed a perfect storm this year as macro crosscurrents hamstring the Fed's monetary policy, GDP slips, and the US debt outlook worsens. Unemployment has risen to 4.2% from 3.4% in 2023, CPI inflation of 2.7% is stubbornly above the Fed's 2% inflation target, the World Bank says GDP is expected to fall to 1.4% from 2.8% last year, and debt experts say the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act passed this year will add $3.4 trillion to the US debt by 2034. Related: Analyst expects gold to fall off the 'Wall of Worry' The risks have hammered the US Dollar, causing the Dollar Index to tumble 10% in 2025. Since gold is priced in USD, the Dollar's struggles have made it more attractive to overseas buyers eager to diversify their holdings away from US Treasuries in protest of President Trump's tariff policy. The significant uncertainty has also made antsy investors far more interested in gold than Treasuries as a safe haven. "Safe haven dollars can purchase gold, an asset that doesn't produce income, at an all-time high without a risk parachute, or they can buy Treasuries at multi-decade lows with a yield of 4% to 5% to cushion downside price risk," said Garner in a TheStreet Pro post. "Ironically, the masses select the former and pass on the latter." Many are indeed giving up on Treasuries' relatively juicy yields, fearing the worst. That may not be the best move, though, for newer gold bugs, given that gold has already rocketed to all-time highs this summer. Troubling times always increase interest in gold, and this isn't the first time that gold has put on a show. In 2011, gold similarly rallied sharply to all-time highs amid uncertainty around major banks and the economy, and aftershocks following the Great Recession, which was still fresh on investors' minds. Related: Major analyst resets gold price target after shocking economic data Remember the S&P cut the US debt rating for the first time in history in August 2011 because of the growing deficit, prompting a massive 5.5% drop in the S&P 500 on Aug. 8. The situation was so bad that Warren Buffett famously back-stopped Bank of America on Aug. 25, providing a cash influx in exchange for preferred stocks and warrants that eventually made Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway a mint when risk assets found their footing and gold lost its luster. "Although gold is known as a safe-haven asset, it has a history of stunning corrections," reminded Garner. "For instance, the 2011 top was met with a 45% haircut that took nearly a decade to recover." Like most investments, momentum can drive assets higher and lower than logic may dictate, making betting against it a risky endeavor. Still, most money is made or lost by acting ahead of the turning points that mark tops and bottoms. Given that gold has already made a major move higher, investors are wise to consider whether we're closer to a top like 2011 than a bottom like a few years ago. More Experts Stocks & Markets Podcast: Sectors to Avoid With Jay WoodsTrader makes bold call with Boeing stock after defense workers strikeVeteran fund manager sends urgent 9-word message on stocks "Gold is an asset that should only be bought when nobody wants it. If everyone is buying it, it's probably too late for anyone with a time horizon of less than a decade or longer," said Garner. There's certainly an argument that gold bullishness is widespread, with many talking positively about it as a hedge worth owning. "If you are looking for bearish analyst calls or news, you won't find it," said Garner. "But don't let this detract you from being skeptical." Gold was panned as a "dead dog acting as a drag to portfolios" three years ago, says Garner. Today, she says, "it is considered a must-hold in those same portfolios." In other words, contrarian thinking, akin to buying when everyone is selling and selling when everyone is buying, may make more sense today regarding gold than three years ago. "Just as conventional thinking was misguided then, it might be wrong today," wrote Garner. Related: Stock market gets 'kick in the pants' from startling inflation report The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
Visionary Real Estate Investor Ari Rastegar to Share Market Insights on Bloomberg TV
08/15/2025, Austin, Texas // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // Ari Rastegar, Founder and CEO of Rastegar Capital, will appear live on Bloomberg TV Monday, August 18th at 10:30 a.m. ET, joining anchors Matt Miller and Katie Greifeld for an in-depth discussion on the evolving commercial real estate landscape and the broader U.S. economic picture. Broadcasting in person at the Bloomberg desk in New York, Rastegar will address the recent wave of headlines warning of spreading distress in U.S. commercial real estate. While acknowledging the headwinds created by higher borrowing costs and the work-from-home shift, Rastegar is expected to challenge the prevailing doom narrative. 'Markets are conversations between fear and opportunity,' Rastegar says. 'Yes, there are challenges in CRE, but there are also historic opportunities for disciplined investors who know how to see value where others see risk. Distress is not the end of the story; it's often the opening chapter for the next wave of growth.' Rastegar will also weigh in on reports that the Trump administration is nearing a long-discussed IPO for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, an event that could reshape mortgage finance and investor sentiment. Known for his contrarian yet data-driven approach, Rastegar has built a billion dollar real estate portfolio across diverse asset classes by applying disciplined, long-term strategies to navigate volatility and uncover value. 'I've failed more than I've succeeded, but every failure was tuition I paid for a greater return later,' Rastegar notes. 'In real estate, as in life, the key is to stay disciplined when the headlines are screaming panic.' Viewers can catch Rastegar on Bloomberg TV, Monday, August 18th at 10:30 a.m. ET About Ari Rastegar Ari Rastegar is the Founder and CEO of Rastegar Capital, a vertically integrated private real estate investment firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. Recognized as 'The Oracle of Austin' for his market foresight, Rastegar has invested in over 38 cities, 12 states, and multiple asset classes. His bestselling book The Gift of Failure is a guide to transform adversity into a catalyst for lasting success. Media Contacts: Keith Jones 954-205-4728 Ashely Jones 646-351-2743 [email protected][email protected] Source published by Submit Press Release >> Visionary Real Estate Investor Ari Rastegar to Share Market Insights on Bloomberg TV
