Author: SAMUEL

I would never want to join a club that would have me as a member,” said comedian Groucho Marx. The increasingly congested private equity sector should consider taking a similar approach. The private equity clique is becoming less gilded. Last week, President Donald Trump opened the door for US retirement saving plans known as 401k to invest in alternative assets such as corporate buyout funds and cryptocurrencies. At the same time, big private capital managers have been expanding their retail products — known as “evergreen” funds — which had initially been narrowly targeted at high net worth individuals and now…

two components: the Privately Monitored Ratings (PMR) portfolio and the Model-based Credit Opinion (MCO) portfolio. The PMR default rate includes about 300 issuers privately rated by Fitch for the benefit of insurance companies. The MCO default rate tracks about 900 issuers in Fitch’s rated middle market CLO portfolio, where Fitch provides point-in-time credit opinions on the collateral. The MCO default rate excludes issuers already covered in the PMR default rate. This month, Fitch adds granularity to default rate reporting by introducing the MCO component default rate, debuting at 4.5% for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ending 2Q25. Fitch will publish…

On Tuesday, 12 August 2025, Fitch Solutions in a report projected that the Bank of Ghana will gradually lower its policy rate to 23% by the end of 2025 and further to 20% by the end of 2026. In its latest report titled “Monetary Easing to Persist in Ghana Until Mid-2026”, Fitch Solutions predicts a 100-basis point reduction to 24% at the Monetary Policy Committee’s September 2025 meeting followed by another 100-basis point cut in November. This follows a sharp 300-basis point cut to 25% in July 2025, with the UK-based research firm citing moderating inflation, stable exchange rates, and…

Popular Ghanaian music producer, Kwame Yeboah, has observed that many contemporary Ghanaian tracks are nearly indistinguishable from Nigerian songs. He made these comments during an interview on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, when asked about the sound quality of modern Ghanaian music. “I don’t know much of the music being produced in Ghana now. I can’t even tell which songs are Ghanaian and which are Nigerian,” Yeboah admitted. He referenced the hit song, “Lomo Lomo” by KiDi featuring Black Sherif, stating, “I thought it was a Nigerian song when I first heard it.” The instrumentalist, who has worked with highlife legends,…

The Minister for Education and Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced that he will sponsor 47 medical students who were previously beneficiaries of the late Tamale Central MP and Minister for Environment, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed. The pledge was made on Tuesday, August 12, during the Third Day Funeral Rites (Adua) for Dr. Murtala in Tamale, after the students honoured his memory with tributes highlighting his unwavering commitment to education and youth welfare. While appealing to government, charitable organisations, and well-meaning individuals to continue supporting them, the students recalled the late MP as a leader deeply…

Hon. Kwame A-Plus has reacted to Prophet Roja’s doom prophecy about him. Months ago, the self-styled “Dangerous Prophet” claimed to have foreseen a deadly accident involving the Member of Parliament for Gomoa Central, A Plus. According to him, the accident would occur around Kasoa and could be fatal unless prayers were offered to avert it. However, Kwame A-Plus has sharply responded to the prophecy in a Facebook post on Monday, August 11. In a fiery clapback, the outspoken MP claimed God had also revealed something troubling about Prophet Roja’s future.

Shatta Movement’s public relations officer, Sammy Flex, has disclosed that Ghanaian dancehall musician Shatta Wale has lost a $2 million distribution deal for his latest project, the “Voice of the Crown” EP. In a post on his Facebook page, Sammy Flex blamed the loss on negative online reports surrounding the musician, saying they were affecting business operations within their camp. How Shatta Wale begged EOCO not to make seizure of his Lamborghini Urus public “Damn! Now these reports circulating online are disturbing business after this 2million dollar distribution deal of the Voice of the Crown EP fell out. I am…

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has confirmed its participation in the Akwatia by-election scheduled for September 2, 2025, while accusing the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) of engaging in a political strategy to sway voter sentiment. This is on the back of the decision by the NPP not to field a candidate in the upcoming Tamale Central Parliamentary by-election, following the tragic death of the area’s Member of Parliament, Alhaji Dr. Murtala Mohammed, in the August 6 helicopter crash. In a statement signed by NDC Deputy National Communications Officer, Godwin Ako Gunn, the party welcomed the NPP’s decision not to…

The National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, has called on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to withdraw from the upcoming parliamentary by-election for the Akwatia Constituency, which is slated for September 2, 2025. Speaking in an interview on JoyNews on August 11, 2025, Nana Boakye, aka Nana B, asserted that the NDC must withdraw from the Akwatia by-election, just as his party has withdrawn from the Tamale Central by-election, whose Member of Parliament, Dr Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, died in the tragic August 6 helicopter crash. He asserted that the ruling party, as a sign of…

Ghanaian dancehall musician, Stonebwoy, has encouraged young people to embrace marriage, describing it as a beautiful experience. The dancehall performer expressed this perspective when he and his spouse showed up at the wedding of Nigerian music icon Davido and his long-term partner, Chioma in Miami. Speaking briefly upon arrival at the event on Sunday, August 10, the singer shared his thoughts on marriage, saying, “Marriage is a beautiful thing. You see, I just walked through with my wife, so to all the boys out there, get married.” The couple’s Miami ceremony comes after their court wedding in March 2023 and…