Member Views

Africa Sovereign Debt Spiral Foments Frustration

This past year, a decade-long Africa commercial borrowing binge with $30bn worth of bonds outstanding came to a screeching halt amid outright or near defaults, with distressed spreads as a measure of risk of over 1,000 basis points to US Treasuries for the sovereign benchmark index cross-section.

Debt topped the agenda at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC in December.

Africa stock markets plot depreciation/inflation escape

The BWC is pleased to Member Spotlight Gary Kleiman's recent article with bne IntelliNews discussing the performance of various African frontier stock markets in the past year.

According to Kleiman's article, "Last year African frontier stock markets on the dollar-denominated MSCI benchmark index, where the majority reside, were an overall losing proposition – with the region sub-index the only decliner at 7% versus the composite up by the same percentage."

Africa Stock Markets Test Run Revival Formula

Most frontier African stock markets lagged in 2022, but a revival is likely on renewed privatization policies, cross-border integration, currency rationalization, and bank rotation from forced bond allocation into equities, writes BWC member Gary Kleiman.

AI Could Breathe New Life Into Core Systems

The new kid on the block, AI, meets the original gangster, COBOL. Is it magic or is it a miss? COBOL, the Common Business-Oriented Language, is still very much an integral part of how data is stored and used by some of the institutions we trust deeply such as banks, insurers, healthcare providers, and governments. One would think that moving away from COBOL in our hyper connected and technologically advanced world would be easy.

Alejo Czerwonko

This Member Monday we welcome new member Alejo Czerwonko, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) Emerging Markets Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Alen Amini

The Bretton Woods Committee is pleased to welcome new member, Alen Amini.

Alen is a project leader for BCG with previous experience in education, government, small business, and nonprofit leadership. He has a passion for geopolitics and is the executive director of WiderNet, a nonprofit that provides information access to people lacking reliable internet

Ali Wyne

This Member Monday we welcome new member Ali Wyne, Senior Research and Advocacy Advisor, U.S.-China for the International Crisis Group. 

Alejo leads a team for developing investment strategies for emerging markets and influencing the strategic direction of the firm's substantial assets. In addition to his role at UBS, Alejo is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, contributes to policy debates through involvement with global think tanks, and is recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, demonstrating his influence in both academia and global finance.

Aligning Interests or Precipitating Energy Transition

BWC member Miguel Schloss wrote in the Global Journal of Science Frontier Research a new paper titled Aligning Interests or Precipitating Energy Transition. "The time has come to reset the role" of multilaterals, particularly the IMF and the World Bank.

All Crises Open Up Opportunities to Think Afresh

The Bank of England’s chief economist calls on policymakers to jolt companies towards fairer, more productive ways of working.

America Is Back: We Need a Trade Agenda That Shows It

America is back on the world stage. That’s the theme President Biden repeatedly hit during his first international trip this month, and throughout his first several months in office.