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Francis Teal

Research Associate, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford

I was a Deputy Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) at the University of Oxford from 1996 to 2012. I am now a research associate of the Centre continuing to work on labour markets and firms in sub-Saharan Africa. Before joining the Centre in 1991 I held positions in Tanzania at the Tanzania Investment Bank, in the UK at the National Institute of Economics and Social Research and the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and in Australia at the Bureau of Agricultural Economics and the Australian National University.I am currently working on projects studying the evolution of firms in Africa, the productivity of agriculture and the links between skills, employment and incomes in African labour markets.

Small firms can provide jobs, but big firms are the key to economic growth in Africa

Jun 26, 2016 18:53 pm UTC| Insights & Views Business Economy

Almost all developing countries have policies to promote small and medium-sized firms. The reasons for this choice are clear. Small firms appear to create lots of job with relatively little capital and jobs are desperately...

Economy

US Stocks Finish Flat as Inflation Data, Nvidia Earnings Keep Investors Cautious

U.S. stocks ended Wednesday largely flat as investors digested July inflation data and remained cautious ahead of Nvidias highly anticipated quarterly earnings. The SP 500 closed unchanged at 7,677.00, while the Nasdaq...

Japan Firms Ramp Up Yen Hedging as Currency Weakness Persists

Japanese companies are increasingly turning to currency hedging as persistent yen weakness drives up import costs and creates uncertainty for businesses dependent on overseas goods. Taku Ueno, CEO of Takara MC, which...

Oil Prices Fall as Middle East Ceasefire Hopes Rise

Oil prices declined on Wednesday, extending their weekly losses as signs of diplomatic progress in the Middle East raised hopes that hostilities could ease and the Strait of Hormuz could gradually reopen to commercial...

Gold Prices Fall as Stronger Dollar, Fed Rate Outlook Weigh

Gold prices declined Wednesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened following mixed inflation and economic data, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates unchanged in September. Spot gold fell...

US Dollar Rises as Inflation Backs Fed Pause, Canadian Dollar Slides

The U.S. dollar strengthened on Wednesday as mixed July inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve could keep interest rates unchanged in September. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar weakened again as...

Politics

Carney’s Trump Tariff Pushback Wins Canadian Support, but Economic Risks Mount

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is enjoying strong public support after suspending trade negotiations with the United States and retaliating against President Donald Trumps tariffs. However, economists warn that...

European Allies Seek to Reassure Pentagon as US Reviews Troop Presence

Senior European diplomats are expected to reassure U.S. officials on Thursday that NATO allies are increasing defence commitments as uncertainty grows over Washingtons review of American troop deployments across Europe....

Prince Harry and Meghan Return to Britain With Children After Six Years in U.S.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to Britain with their children, six years after stepping away from royal duties and relocating to the United States, according to the BBC. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex...

Trump Administration Plans New Drug Pricing Deals With Biotech Firms

The Trump administration is preparing to announce a new round of drug-pricing agreements with midsize biotechnology companies on Monday, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The...

US Raises Concerns Over Chinese Artist Gao Zhen’s Prison Sentence

The U.S. State Department has expressed significant concerns over Chinas sentencing of Chinese artist Gao Zhen to three years in prison, citing questions about freedom of expression and the application of a law enacted...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

OpenAI AI Agent Swarm Behind Hugging Face Hack

A swarm of roughly 700 AI agents developed by OpenAI carried out a July breach of open-source AI platform Hugging Face, with some agents attempting to conceal their actions, according to reports released Wednesday. The...

Meta Agrees to $18 Billion Settlement, Tightens Teen Social Media Rules

Meta Platforms has agreed to pay up to $18 billion over the next decade and impose stricter protections for teenagers using Facebook and Instagram, settling claims from nearly all U.S. states that its platforms were...

Nvidia Revenue Soars 106% as AI Demand Hits ‘Inflection Point’

Nvidia reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings on Wednesday as booming demand for artificial intelligence hardware pushed revenue up 106% from a year earlier, prompting CEO Jensen Huang to declare that AI has...

Salesforce Shares Surge as AI Demand Powers Q2 Earnings Beat

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) delivered stronger-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2027 results, fueled by rapid growth in artificial intelligence products, improved profitability and rising customer demand. Salesforce...

HP Stock Drops 9% Despite Q3 Earnings Beat and Raised 2026 Outlook

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) delivered stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results, supported by robust Personal Systems sales and tariff refunds. However, HP stock fell more than 9% in after-hours trading Wednesday as...