DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ I worked as a wealth advisor for Goldman Sachs. Here's what I learned from how the super rich manage their money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-06 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ayesha Ofori worked in wealth management for Goldman Sachs for six years. AdvertisementThis as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 40-year-old Ayesha Ofori, CEO of Propelle, from London, about her experience working at Goldman Sachs. If you'd asked me what success looked like at the time, it would've been being a partner at Goldman Sachs. AdvertisementSaving money isn't enoughWhen I was at Goldman Sachs, I noticed we didn't have many women clients. When I worked at Goldman Sachs, I was focused on paying off my student loans and saving money.

Persons: Ayesha Ofori, Goldman Sachs, Ofori, —, Goldman, I'd, you'd, would've, I'm, It's, I've, you'll Organizations: Service, Goldman Sachs, Business, Columbia Business School, Goldman, Invest Locations: London, New York

☆ Meet the ex-Goldman wealth advisor who quit to solve Britain’s £567 billion gender investment gap
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ayesha Ofori is a former Goldman Sachs wealth advisor who quit her high-profile job to resolve Britain's gender wealth gap, after realizing she had spent her career making rich men even richer. Ofori is the 40-year-old founder and CEO of female-focused financial investment platform, Propelle, which launched on Wednesday. Britain's gender investment gap currently stands at £567 billion — an increase of £54 billion between January 2023 and January 2024 — according to data from British financial research company Boring Money which surveyed over 6,000 adults in the U.K. It found that men have £1.01 trillion invested compared with £450 billion for women. The gender pensions gap refers to the differences in retirement income or retirement wealth between men and women.

Persons: Ayesha Ofori, Goldman Sachs, Propelle, Ofori, Stefan Bollinger, Julius Baer, Lucy Demery, Goldman, wasn't, I'd, isn't Organizations: Goldman, Vanguard, Blackrock, HSBC, Google, CNBC, Barclays, Ofori Locations: Prospect, British

☆ Ghana sees agreement with bilateral creditors in coming weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ofori-Atta said the West African nation aimed to reach agreement with bilateral creditors in coming weeks, adding that it was in the process of getting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the creditors. The total external debt stock was about $30 billion. "We've successfully worked with the Paris Club and other creditors to determine the parameters for official debt restructuring under the G20 common framework for debt treatment," Ofori-Atta told journalists in Accra on Sunday. "In the coming weeks, we will seek to complete the MoU on terms with bilateral debt treatment," he added. Ofori-Atta said Ghana will continue discussions with private creditors, Eurobond investors on external debt to reach agreement with private creditors in the shortest possible time.

Persons: Ken Ofori, Atta, We've, Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Bate Felix, Frances Kerry, David Evans Organizations: International Monetary Fund, IMF, Paris Club, Thomson Locations: ACCRA, Ghana, West, China, Accra

JOHANNESBURG, May 18 (Reuters) - Ghana is targeting $10.5 billion of external debt service relief from 2023-2026, the IMF said, giving an early indication of how large a hit investors might face in an impending debt overhaul. "Our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that this translates to a 40%-50% haircut on external debt, if there is not further restructuring of domestic debt," Bojosi Morule, an economist at Goldman Sachs, said in emailed reaction to the DSA. Ghana's already strained finances buckled under the fallout of COVID-19 and Russia's invasion of Ukraine and it is now seeking to restructure $20 billion of its roughly $30 billion external debt, including about $13 billion of Eurobonds, under the Group of 20's Common Framework platform. Earlier this year it completed a domestic debt exchange. Other risks include Ghana not regaining market access to issue debt and the domestic debt exchange posing dangers to financial sector stability, the IMF said.

"I would like to call on all creditors to join the efforts as swiftly as possible," Christian Lindner said in a news conference with his Ghanaian counterpart Ken Ofori-Atta. In January, Reuters reported exclusively that Ghana had requested a bilateral debt restructuring under the Common Framework, a platform set up by the Group of 20 major economies during the COVID-19 pandemic to bring China and other newer creditor nations into existing debt relief processes. Western leaders have repeatedly criticised China for delaying developing country debt restructurings, which it disputes. "Germany is being true partners" in helping Ghana through the debt restructuring process in "an accelerated way," Ofori-Atta told reporters. "Ghana needs to return as fast as possible to the international financial markets.

☆ Ghana extends domestic debt exchange deadline for third time
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ACCRA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Ghana has again extended the deadline to register for its domestic debt exchange, this time to Jan. 31, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said on Monday. The crisis-hit nation launched the debt swap plan at the start of December, days before clinching a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion rescue package. "Building consensus is key to a successful economic recovery for Ghana," Ofori-Atta wrote on Twitter, adding that registration for the debt exchange would be extended "pending further stakeholder engagement". The IMF has said its board will approve the deal only if Ghana undergoes comprehensive debt restructuring. The deadline for the debt swap, initially set for Dec. 19, had previously been extended to Dec. 30 and then to Jan. 16.

The cedi has lost more than 50% of its value this year , pushing up the cost of Ghana's external debt. Interest payments alone absorb between 70 and 100% of the government's revenuesHOW BIG IS GHANA'S DEBT? Ghana's public debt was 467.4 billion cedis ($37.4 billion) in September, of which 42% was domestic debt, according to the most recent central bank figures released last month. Ghana's debt-to-GDPWHO OWNS GHANA'S DEBT? The fund is yet to comment on Ghana's debt sustainability or domestic bond exchange plans.

ACCRA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Ghana are expected to reach a staff-level agreement on a loan deal by Tuesday at the latest, said three sources with knowledge of the ongoing talks. Two sources said that the IMF program was expected to be an extended credit facility, which provides financial assistance to countries. One of those sources and a third source said that major hurdles in the negotiations were overcome this week which sped up the process. Ghana turned to the IMF for help in July, and an IMF team is currently in the country until Tuesday. The cocoa, gold, and oil-producing West African nation has said it needs the deal by the end of the year.

ACCRA, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Ghana will launch a domestic debt exchange on Monday, its Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said, expressing confidence that the move would help restore macroeconomic stability and end the West African country's worst economic crisis in a generation. Ofori-Atta said in a video address on Sunday that Ghana's government had finished its debt sustainability analysis, but he did not provide any information on plans for foreign debt that are anxiously awaited by international creditors. The government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund for a support programme to relieve its debt distress. "There was little question that Ghana needed LCY (local currency debt) coupon reductions to restore macro sustainability. Ofori-Atta said the government would set up a financial stability fund with the support of development partners to help domestic financial institutions, including banks and pension funds, weather the swap.

☆ Debt-ridden Ghana plans to buy oil with gold instead of dollars, as foreign currency reserves dwindle to an alarming low
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ghana's government is planning to use gold to pay for oil instead of shelling out US dollars. The move is expected to reduce the "persistent depreciation" of the cedi, the Ghanaian currency. As of end-September, Ghana's forex reserves were just enough to cover 3 months worth of imports. In order to protect the country's fast-dwindling foreign currency reserves, Ghana wants to pay for oil with gold instead of shelling out precious US dollars, Mahamudu Bawumia, the country's vice president said Thursday. However, it still has to import refined oil products such as gas and diesel, because Ghana's only oil refinery has been offline following an explosion in 2017, per Reuters.

Presenting the West African nation's 2023 budget in parliament, Ofori-Atta said Ghana was at high risk of debt distress and has agreed on a debt management strategy with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Investment bank Morgan Stanley said on Thursday that it expected Ghana to restructure both its domestic and external debt. "The current debt sustainability analysis conducted reveals that Ghana is now considered to be in high risk of debt distress," Ofori-Atta told lawmakers. Ghana will implement a debt exchange programme to address the challenges, he added. Despite the projected increase in revenue, Ofori-Atta said the fiscal budget would increase to 7.7% of GDP from 6.6% over the coming year.

☆ Ghana plans to buy oil with gold instead of U.S. dollars
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Tom Polansek | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ACCRA, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Ghana's government is working on a new policy where gold rather than U.S. dollar reserves will be used to buy oil products, Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said on Facebook on Thursday. The move is meant to tackle dwindling foreign currency reserves coupled with demand for dollars by oil importers, which is weakening the local cedi and increasing living costs. Ghana's Gross International Reserves stood at around $6.6 billion at the end of September 2022, equating to less than three months of imports cover. Using gold would prevent the exchange rate from directly impacting fuel or utility prices as domestic sellers would no longer need foreign exchange to import oil products, he explained. "The barter of gold for oil represents a major structural change," he added.

☆ Ghana president sacks junior finance minister over alleged impropriety
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bernd Lauter/Pool via REUTERSACCRA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has sacked Charles Adu Boahen, the minister of state for finance, the presidency said on Monday after allegations of impropriety were circulated by a well-known Ghanaian investigative journalist. Adu Boahen did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. read moreThe allegations against Adu Boahen did not appear to be related to those previously raised against Ofori-Atta. Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said in a statement the video showed Adu Boahen "apparently using my name, inter alia, to peddle influence and collect money from supposed investors". "I would like to state that if what the minister (Adu Boahen) is alleged to have said is accurately captured in the video, then his position as a minister of state is untenable.

☆ Ghana name uncapped pair who have impressed in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Kamal Sowah’s form for Club Brugge in the Champions League has won him a World Cup call-up for Ghana after the uncapped striker was on Monday included in the country’s squad for Qatar. The 22-year-old was a surprise selection as coach Otto Addo named his 26-man squad for the tournament, where the Black Stars face Portugal, South Korea and Uruguay in Group H.Sowah has impressed as the Belgian club reached the last 16 of the Champions League, knocking out Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen in the process. There was also a first call up for midfielder Salis Abdul Samed, 22, who has been a regular for Racing Lens this season as they have moved to second in the French Ligue 1 standings. The squad will be captained by Dede Ayew, who was part of the team that reached the quarter-finals in South Africa in 2010 – only the third time an African nation has reached the last eight of a World Cup. Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"It is not a kind of tactic to avoid formal negotiation on loss and damage funding arrangements here," Schulze said. Some research suggests that by 2030, vulnerable countries could face $580 billion per year in climate-linked "loss and damage". Ghana's finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta, who chairs the V20 group of vulnerable countries, called the creation of the Global Shield "long overdue". Yet some vulnerable countries questioned the scheme's focus on insurance, with insurance premiums adding another cost to cash-strapped countries that have low carbon emissions and contributed least to the causes of climate change. It was not immediately clear how much of the Global Shield funding announced so far was in grant form.

Search resuls for: "Ofori"

15 mentions found