SOUTH AFRICA: Government Demarches US Ambassador in Latest Spat US-SA Spat

Bloomberg reporting that South Africa has demarched the US ambassador to Pretoria over his recent criticism of the country. "The Department of International Relations and Cooperation conveyed the diplomatic protest to Leo Brent Bozell on Wednesday," the piece notes. * TimesLive had reported earlier in the week that the ambassador-designate, Leo Brent Bozell, warned on Tuesday that Trump is running out of patience with Pretoria over its failure to address Washington's demands for changes to its domestic and foreign policies. * Bozell also criticised a Constitutional Court ruling last year that found the anti-apartheid Kill the Boer chant isn't hate speech, though he later clarified that while it's his personal view that the chant is hate speech, "the US government respects the independence and findings of South Africa's judiciary." * The step from South Africa marks an escalation of tensions with the US. President Donald Trump has accused South Africa of subjecting White farmers to a genocide and seizing their land, and criticised its relations with Iran and Hamas.

PERU: MNI BCRP Preview – March 2026: Hold Seen Amid Mounting Risks

Download Full Report Here: https://media.marketnews.com/MNI_BCRP_Preview_Mar_2026_1db8688fba.pdf Executive Summary * The BCRP is widely expected to leave its benchmark reference rate unchanged at 4.25% for a sixth consecutive meeting in March after CPI inflation surprised to the upside last month. * With inflation now close to the BCRP's 2% target and the economy still growing around its potential rate, there is little urgency to cut rates further at this juncture. * In addition, the outbreak of the conflict in the middle east and subsequent surge in oil prices warrants a cautious stance for now.

NBP: Governor Confirms Parties 'Couldn't Reach Agreement' On SAFE 0%

The Governor defends the legality of 'Polish SAFE 0%', which would use unrealised profits on gold reserves, but admits that the NBP will not launch the programme, because parties to the talks could not reach agreement. This comes on the heels of his meeting with President Karol Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk. * The Governor now talks about the programme in hypothetical terms, discusses what the central bank 'would have' done. He accuses his interlocutors (presumably Prime Minister Tusk, his government and certain media outlets) of negotiating in bad faith, says that his proposals were dismissed before any serious discussion. * The Governor says that the proposed operations would not breach the law, as the NBP's Management Board can manage reserves autonomously. He says that the transactions would not deplete reserves. He clarifies that the central bank would be selling gold in London for dollars, effectively converting gold reserves into dollar reserves. * Governor Glapiski says that there is a unique opportunity to introduce the proposed scheme, because the current favourable circumstances (aggressive gold purchases combined with sharp appreciation of the yellow metal) are unlikely to materialise again in foreseeable future. * The Governor says that 'Polish SAFE 0%' would have 'no negative side effects' and would allow the central bank to generate the required amount of funds for national defence every year. He says that technical work is completed and the NBP is ready to launch the programme at any point, if it gets a green light from the government. * Governor Glapiski says that pulled Prime Minister Tusk aside after yesterday's meeting and they agreed that NBP experts will hold further talks with teams from the Finance Ministry and Defence Ministry. Still, throughout his presser he remained very pessimistic about the prospect of agreement ('there is zero interest, so we will not start anything'). * Governor Glapiski warns that Poland is very close to a zone of active military conflict and the frontline may soon move closer to the border, hence the urgent need to ramp up military spending.

NBP: Governor Glapiński Pessimistic About Political Consensus Around 'SAFE 0%'

Governor Glapiski says that while the NBP's aggressive gold purchases were driven by geopolitical concerns, the side effect of the accumulation of the yellow metal was generating hefty unrealised profit to the tune of PLN197bn. He explains that without any action, this unrealised profit does not bring any benefit to the society, but suggests that there is little chance of the idea he proposed alongside President Karol Nawrocki coming to fruition. * The Governor says that building a powerful army is a necessary condition of the existence of the Polish state over the long term. He says that 'the world is showing its ugly face' and the situation is unlikely to change within the next 10 years. * Governor Glapiski says that considering this context, and the unrealised profits on gold holdings achieved thanks to the competent work of NBP's dealers, there is an imperative to use these profits to fund national defence. * The Governor sounds downbeat on the prospect of reaching political consensus on the matter. He drops several such hints. He says that 'nothing will probably come out' of it and that his relations with the government were good enough up until this day.