Business
West African bloc pins hopes on ambitious superhighway from Ivory Coast to Nigeria
West African leaders are holding a crucial summit in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, focusing on the morale-sapping departure of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from their 15-member bloc Ecowas.
Few think the military rulers of the three dissident states can be persuaded to pause or reverse their decision.
While faced with this blow to regional unity, West Africa is also poised to start work on a 1,028km (689 miles) highway from Ivory Coast’s main city Abidjan – through Ghana, Togo and Benin – to Nigeria’s biggest city Lagos.
Construction is supposed to start in 2026 and pledges of $15.6bn (£12.3bn) have already been mobilised from a range of funders and investors.
Just as Western Europe matched the Soviet-led communist bloc with a “Common Market” that later evolved into today’s trading powerhouse, the European Union (EU), so Ecowas may find that a drive for prosperity and growth proves to be its most effective response to the wave of military coups and nationalism that have swept across the region since 2020.
The plan to build a modern transport corridor along the West African coast was originally approved eight years ago – long before the coups that have overturned civilian rule in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Preparatory studies, led by the African Development Bank, were commissioned.
But when these were presented last month, the timing could hardly have come at a better moment for reinvigorating the battered self-confidence of Ecowas (Economic Community of West African States).
Neither traditional diplomacy, nor sanctions, nor even the threat of military intervention in Niger, had managed to push the juntas into organising elections and restoring civilian government, as required by Ecowas governance rules.
The defiant regimes declared they would leave the 15-member bloc altogether.
They have subsequently spurned the remaining members’ efforts to persuade them to stay, although the Ecowas envoy, Senegal’s new, young President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who shares their nationalistic outlook, is still trying.
Until this crisis, Ecowas was Africa’s most cohesive and politically integrated regional grouping, with a creditable record of crisis management and even the deployment of peacekeepers in troubled member states.
With the departure of Mali, Burkina and Niger, the bloc will lose 76 million of its 446 million people and more than half its total geographical land area, with the loss of vast tracts of the Sahara – a painful blow to prestige and self-belief.
After a catastrophic fire five years ago, the Notre Dame Cathedral de Paris reopened this month looking almost the same as it did when it was first constructed in 1163.
The massive reconstruction project was a testament not just to the hard work of the French people – but also to the lasers, drones and other advanced technology that gave rebuilders a window into the building’s past.
“The time frame wouldn’t have been possible without the record of what existed,” Amy Bunszel, executive vice president of architecture, engineering and construction at 3D-software company Autodesk, told CNN. Her company was a major part of creating a model of the building as it existed before the fire, giving the reconstruction effort a sort of guide for what to do. “It would’ve required a lot more guesswork. Imagine taking millions of tourist photographs (as a reference point) versus having one consolidated perfect representation.”
Back in 2022, when the labor market was so hot that Beyoncé even released a song about it, Americans were job hopping in large numbers, boosting their salary in the process.
The Great Resignation was in full swing.
That fueled fears of a “wage-price spiral” — where wages and prices perpetually rise and feed off each other.
But what appeared to be a hot job market was actually a symptom — not the cause — of the recent bout of inflation, according to new research that explored the consequences of unexpected rising prices on the labor market.
The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy. It is the latest well-known retailer to fall victim to customers cutting back on discretionary spending.
The 46-year-old company said in a statement late Sunday that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection will help it “bolster its financial position, fuel growth initiatives, and drive enhanced long-term profitability.” The Container Store revealed in court documents that it has about $230 million in debt and just $11.8 million in cash on hand, but will receive $40 million in fresh financing.
The chain’s 102 locations and website will remain open for orders during the process, which is expected to take 35 days to complete.
“The Container Store is here to stay,” said CEO Satish Malhotra in a statement. “Our strategy is sound, and we believe the steps we are taking today will allow us to continue to advance our business, deepen customer relationships, expand our reach, and strengthen our capabilities.”
Payments to vendors and suppliers will be made as normal and all customer deposits and orders will be honored and delivered, the company said. The Container Store plans to emerge as a private company when the Chapter 11 process is complete.
The company’s Sweden-based Elfa brand, described as a “premium customizable storage system,” isn’t included in the bankruptcy.
The filing comes a few weeks after a deal with Beyond, the parent company of Bed Bath & Beyond and Overstock.com. The Container Store was expected bring Bed Bath & Beyond-branded products to some stores, but that deal appears to be in jeopardy. Beyond previously said that the financing deal was in doubt because the Container Store was struggling to reach an agreement with its lenders.
The Container Store’s stock has already been delisted by the New York Stock Exchange because it failed to meet the exchange’s financial standards.
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