hyper-inflation – News Stories About hyper-inflation - Page 1

Zimbabwe Has $217 in the Bank

Government finances 'paralyzed,' minister says

(Newser) - Zimbabwe has just $217 left in its government public account after paying public workers' wages last week, says the country finance minister. "The government finances are in paralysis state at the present moment. We are failing to meet our targets," the minister said at a press conference. He...

Zimbabwe Central Bank
Stole Cash to Stay Solvent

Apr 20, 2009 11:26 AM CDT

Zimbabwe Central Bank Stole Cash to Stay Solvent

Governor admits pilfering private accounts to keep ministries running

(Newser) - Zimbabwe's central bank governor admits he took money from bank accounts of private businesses and foreign aid groups without permission to keep the country's cash-strapped ministries running. Gideon Gono said today he loaned money from the private hard-currency accounts to the government. He says the accounts will be reimbursed when...

Cholera Is Raging,
Whatever Mugabe Says

Dec 12, 2008 6:51 AM CST

Cholera Is Raging, Whatever Mugabe Says

Zimbabwe nears total collapse as health sector shuts down

(Newser) - Robert Mugabe says that the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has ended, but health experts say that 60,000 people could succumb to the disease, and half of the country's population is at risk. Zimbabwe's socioeconomic collapse has frighteningly accelerated, writes Celia Dugger in Harare, and daily life has become impossible....

Zimbabwe Makes US Dollar Legal Tender

Sep 26, 2008 7:49 AM CDT

Zimbabwe Makes US Dollar Legal Tender

Inflation rate of 11M% makes local currency largely worthless

(Newser) - The government of Zimbabwe will allow consumers and shops to deal in American and South African currency as an 11 million percent inflation rate continues to pummel the nearly worthless Zimbabwean dollar. Cash remains in short supply in Zimbabwe, and on a flourishing black market a US dollar can fetch...

Paper Shortage Deepens Crisis in Zimbabwe

Jul 24, 2008 2:58 PM CDT

Paper Shortage Deepens Crisis in Zimbabwe

With inflation at 40M%, government can't print money to keep pace

(Newser) - International sanctions and hyperinflation have left Zimbabwe nearly unable to print money, the Guardian reports. Stocks are nearly depleted since shipments ceased early this month from the German firm that supplied paper for banknotes; worse, the license will soon expire on the software used to design and print the bills....

Zimbabwe Launches $100B Bill

Jul 20, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Zimbabwe Launches $100B Bill

Note likely to prove ineffectual against hyperinflation

(Newser) - Zimbabwe will introduce a new $100 billion bank note tomorrow to offset rampant inflation—a seemingly exorbitant sum that may not even buy a loaf of bread. The official annual inflation rate in the country tops 2,200,200%, but independent estimates peg the actual rate at many times higher....

9M% Inflation Crushes Zimbabwe

Jul 18, 2008 9:56 AM CDT

9M% Inflation Crushes Zimbabwe

As cash becomes worthless, citizens face starvation

(Newser) - The political violence that ravaged Zimbabwe has subsided since Robert Mugabe's sham reelection, but another devastation continues unabated: economic meltdown. Zimbabwe's inflation rate has now hit 9 million percent, and a $50-billion Zimbabwean note is worth just 34 cents and falling in American currency. The Guardian investigates the surreal economic...

Paper Co.
Cuts Off Supply
of Zimbabwe's
Bank Notes

Jul 2, 2008 12:46 PM CDT

Paper Co. Cuts Off Supply of Zimbabwe's Bank Notes

Secretive German firm caves to pressure

(Newser) - The German company that supplies Zimbabwe with the paper for its hyper-inflated currency has caved to pressure from the German government and stopped doing business with embattled dictator Robert Mugabe. The secretive Bavarian firm, Giesecke & Devrient, had been airlifting tons of special blank bank notes—fortified with watermarks and...

Two Shot in Somalia Food Riots

May 5, 2008 10:31 AM CDT

Two Shot in Somalia Food Riots

Thousands protest over inflation and soaring prices

(Newser) - Soldiers shot and killed at least two people in Somalia as thousands rioted over inflation and soaring food prices. A recent rash of counterfeiting has led some merchants to only accept US dollars, instead of local shillings, the BBC reports. In response, angry Somalis threw rocks and burned tires, shouting,...

Price Cuts Ruin Zimbabwe's Economy

Aug 2, 2007 10:53 AM CDT

Price Cuts Ruin Zimbabwe's Economy

Mugabe's radical 'solution' to spiraling inflation backfires

(Newser) - A radical attempt to curb Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation by cutting prices up to 50% has backfired on President Robert Mugabe's government, which is now teetering on the brink of collapse, the New York Times reports. Store shelves are empty; bread, sugar, and cornmeal, the staples of Zimbabwean's diet, are depleted.