Ahead on Ghana rate cut

Reuters was 23 minutes ahead with news on Feb. 19 that Ghana’s central bank had cut its prime lending rate by 2 percentage points to 16.0 percent, in response to a rapid fall of inflation. Reuters got the news from sources with knowledge of the decision before the public release. The larger-than-expected rate cut, which helped push down the cedi currency and boost Ghana’s stock market in subsequent days, is likely to fuel 2010 economic growth of nearly 6 percent in Ghana, which has become one of Africa’s most attractive frontier markets.