2025-03-22
26 分钟Hello, welcome to World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
My name's Ed Butler.
On today's edition,
we're looking at the latest crisis threatening Ethiopia following cuts to US Aid there.
We're hearing from Heathrow Airport where services are slowly resuming after the entire airport,
one of the world's busiest, was shut down on Friday.
And why more and more Americans, even the well paid ones, are taking on multiple jobs at the moment.
First though, this year, by some estimates,
Africa could become the second fastest growing region globally.
That's after East Asia, South Asia.
I beg your pardon, but as with every economic forecast, the future trajectory is fraught with doubt.
The African Development bank now forecasts
that 4.3% growth possible in the region was made before President Trump introduced turmoil into global markets with his America first agenda and also before he announced wholesale cuts to more than 3/4 of the US aid budget.
That's around $10 billion of support for things like health services,
agricultural programs and budget support, more on which in a moment.
But first, let's take a more positive spin on things.
A few weeks ago, before all of those cuts were announced, I sat down with Sim Chabalala.
He is the CEO of Standard Bank, Africa's largest commercial lender.
He retains a very positive view of the economic opportunities that remain,
he says, for the continent despite the headwinds.