Israel’s finance minister resigned
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich resigned from his post as minister on Monday in a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Reuters, a spokesperson for Smotrich said the resignation was a protest against nationalist-religious Jewish Power party head Itamar Ben Gvir’s request for more ministerial positions upon Ben Gvir’s return to the government.
The resignation is not expected to bring down Netanyahu’s coalition. Last week, the government successfully passed its 2025 budget in Israel’s parliament.
China launched military drills around Taiwan
China’s military announced on Tuesday it had started joint exercises involving its army, navy, and rocket forces around Taiwan. China said these drills are meant to be a “stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence.” In their announcement, they insulted Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-Te by calling him a “parasite.”
China considers Taiwan to be its territory, despite Taiwan being self-governed by its own democratic system. China has always maintained it might use military force to take control of Taiwan. These new military exercises come after President Lai referred to Beijing as a “foreign hostile force” last month.
China strongly dislikes President Lai, viewing him as a “separatist.” In a video released with the military’s announcement, China depicted Lai as a cartoon bug being held by chopsticks over a burning image of Taiwan.
The Eastern Theater Command of China’s military explained on its WeChat social media account: “The focus is on exercises such as combat readiness patrols at sea and in the air, seizing comprehensive control, striking maritime and land targets, and imposing blockade controls on key areas and routes.”
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US stocks had their worst quarter since 2022
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite posted on Monday their worst quarterly performances since 2022, as uncertainty around the Trump administration’s economic agenda roiled U.S. equity markets in the first quarter of 2025.
The two benchmarks also suffered heavily in March, recording their biggest monthly percentage drops since December 2022, as President Donald Trump rolled out a swathe of new tariffs, which raised fears of a global trade war that would hurt economic growth and spur inflation.
For the quarter, the S&P 500 fell 4.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped sharply by 10.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average wasn’t spared from the market anxiety, declining 1.3% in the first three months of the year.
The “Magnificent Seven” technology companies, which drove stock markets higher during the bull market of 2023 and 2024, had a major negative impact as investors sold off growth stocks.
Tesla stock dropped almost 36% in the first quarter, and Nvidia fell nearly 20%.
Personal loans in Nigeria surged to N470bn
The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that Nigerians secured personal loans amounting to N470bn from banks in the last three months of 2024.
The country’s main financial regulator shared this information in its Fourth Quarter 2024 Economic Report released on Sunday.
The report showed that total consumer credit outstanding grew by 11.06 percent to N4.72tn at the end of December 2024, up from N4.25tn recorded at the end of September 2024.
This major increase shows that more Nigerians are turning to personal loans to manage their finances during challenging economic times.
According to the report, personal loans jumped by 21.27 percent to N3.82tn compared to N3.15tn recorded at the end of the previous quarter.
This rapid growth in personal loans made up most of the overall consumer credit increase during this period.
However, while personal loans went up significantly, retail loans dropped by 18.18 percent to N0.90tn from N1.10tn at the end of September 2024.
South Korea’s constitutional court will rule on Yoon’s impeachment on April 4
South Korea’s Constitutional Court, which is reviewing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, will announce its decision on whether to remove him from office permanently or reinstate him on April 4, the court said in a statement on Tuesday.
The court said the ruling will be delivered at 11 a.m. (0300 WAT) and a live broadcast of the session will be permitted.
Yoon was impeached by parliament on December 14 after being accused of violating his constitutional duty by declaring martial law in early December with no justifiable grounds.
