France is stuck in economic limbo, without a budget and soon, possibly, without a government. The prime minister, Francois Bayrou, has called for parliament to hold a confidence vote on 8 September and, now that parties of the left and far-right have pledged to bring the government down, on paper he doesn't have the numbers to win. On Tuesday the Socialist Party (PS) added its voice to the dissenters, allying it with the Greens and the far-right National Rally.
average borrowing costs in Africa are almost 10 times higher than for the US, fueled by perceptions of risk propagated by international credit rating agencies.