Zimbabwe’s consumer inflation stood at -1.1 percent month-on-month in April compared to -3.0 in March, the Central Statistical Office [in Harare] said on Friday. The CSO did not release a yearly figure.

Zimbabwe has allowed the use of multiple foreign currencies to stem hyperinflation that destroyed the value of the Zimbabwe dollar.

For web designers, there are four keys to surviving bad economic times: do good work, charge a fair price, lower your overhead, and be sure you are communicating with your client. As a reader of 24 ways, you already do good work, so let’s focus on the rest.

Take a look at this chart and think about the huge percentage decreases we’ve seen in 2008.

Try this: the Dow Jones lost nearly 17% of its value in 1929. In 2008, the Dow Jones lost more than 17% in October.

Andrew Mellon, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, just a few months after “The Crash of ‘29″ when the Great Depression is in its first of four years, said:

“I see nothing in the present situation that is either menacing or warrants pessimism… I have every confidence that there will be a revival of activity in the spring, and that during this coming year the country will make steady progress.” (December 31, 1929)

I’m hopeful the spring will bring new life into the global economy, and not drag us all into a deeper depression like those dark days between 1929-1933.

(Thanks, Jeff)

(via Matador Pulse)

The government of Zimbabwe, led by President Robert Mugabe, spent $7.3 million donated by an international organization, the Global Fund, to fight killer diseases on other things and has failed to honor requests to return the money, according to the organization’s inspector general.

Gideon Gono, governor of the Reserve Bank, the custodian of the Global Fund’s money, has been spending large sums this year on a variety of things, according to reports in Zimbabwe’s state-owned media.

Mr. Gono gave the country’s judges new vehicles, satellite dishes and televisions and allocated 79 vehicles for the Information Ministry. He announced the provision of 3,000 tractors, 105 combine harvesters and 100,000 plows for the country’s farm mechanization program. Mr. Ndlovu, the information minister, said the Reserve Bank had been getting foreign currency for imports of food and medicine.

The most shocking part is:

The United Nations’ daily posting of the country’s exchange rate showed that the number of Zimbabwe dollars required to buy a single American dollar rose from 3 million on Oct. 23 to 1 billion the next day, and then to 40 billion on Wednesday and 1.1 trillion on Saturday. For Unicef to continue operating, he said, it must start using American dollars.

Zimbabwe’s state Herald newspaper quotes official statistics saying annual inflation in Zimbabwe has hit 231 million percent.

Independent economists say the southern African nation’s hyperinflation is running in the billions of percentage points.

These inflation statistics are from July 2008 — months before this historic and pathetic power sharing deal. 

Steve H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics at The Johns Hopkins University and Senior Fellow at The Cato Institute, publishes the Hanke Hyperinflation Index for Zimbabwe (HHIZ). Last updated on October 3rd, the HHIZ put Zimbabwe’s hyper-inflation at 2 trillion percent.

Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate — already the world’s highest — has soared to 231,000,000%, newly released official figures for July show.

The rise — from 11,200,000% last month — was largely due to increases in the prices of bread and cereals.

From 11 million percent to 231 million percent in 1 month.

And it’s not even over yet. It’s only Monday.

For years now, they’ve told us that we can’t afford — that the government providing healthcare to all people is just unimaginable; it can’t be done. We don’t have the money to rebuild our infrastructure. We don’t have the money to wipe out poverty. We can’t do it. But all of a sudden, yeah, we do have $700 billion for a bailout of Wall Street.

(via DF)

The timing of this year’s conventions poses a unique challenge for the Secret Service as well. Coming off protection details in China where U.S. dignitaries traveled for the Olympics, the agents and officers go straight to Denver for the Democratic National Convention and then have just three days before the Republican counterpart kicks off. In 2004, there were 32 days between the two conventions; and there were 11 days between the 2000 conventions.

The rate of inflation in Zimbabwe jumped to just over 11,250,000% in June, official figures show.

“It gained 9,035,045.5 percentage points from the May rate of 2,233,713.4%,” said state media quoting the Central Statistical Office (CSO).

However, experts believe the actual rate of inflation may be much higher.

Our “experts” — family and friends living in Zim — tell us inflation is much closer to 40,000,000%. The BBC also said:

Earlier this month, Zimbabwe’s central bank chief called for a six-month freeze on prices and wages in a bid to rein in spiralling inflation.

“Zimbabweans must realise that the country is in a practically binding state of socio-economic emergency,” Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono said.

“As such, there is need for a universal moratorium on all incomes and prices for a minimum period of six months,” he added.

Today, I’m going to give it another shot. I’m hopeful with the new redesign and a bus load of new features, they’ve ironed out the kinks.

“The Zimbabwe dollar will be redenominated by a factor of one to 10, which means we are removing 10 zeros from our monetary value. Ten billion dollars today will be reduced to Z$1… effective from 1 August,” Mr Gono said in a television broadcast.

This news is somewhat welcome, I suppose. There’s a severe cash shortage in Zimbabwe and the country’s financial system is in ruin. The BBC reported on Wednesday:

The new Z$100bn (under $2, £1) note introduced last week is not enough to buy a loaf of bread. Inflation is officially running at more than 2,000,000%, but many analysts believe the true inflation figure is at least 9,000,000%.

A BBC reporter in Harare said that on the day he recently went shopping, a tray of 24 eggs went up from Z$375bn to Z$600bn. 

So far this year, Zimbabwe has been forced to print Z$100m, Z$250m and Z$500m notes in rapid succession, now mostly worthless.

Remember in 2006, Gono removed 3 zeros from the Zimbabwean dollar making a total of 13 zeros stripped in just 2 years.

The counting of zeros had already become a nightmare for bankers and shoppers before the introduction of the new note – which at the time of writing would buy about two loaves of bread.
So far this year, the country ravaged by hyperinflation has been forced to print 100-million, 250-million and 500-million notes in rapid succession. All of them are now almost worthless.
It has become common now for Zimbabweans to talk of their daily expenses in trillions (one trillion has 12 zeros).

There so sign of this inflation slowing down. Official rates are now quoted at 2,200,000% but independent estimates put that number closer to 20 million percent. What I find historically fascinating is that Zimbabwe holds neither the world record for the highest inflation rate nor the largest denomination bank note. The RBZ issued a $100 billion note just last week. On the topic of historical hyper-inflation, Wikipedia says:

Hungary went through its worst inflation in modern history in 1945-46. Before 1945, the highest denomination was 1,000 pengő. By the end of 1945, it was 10,000,000 pengő. The highest denomination in mid-1946 was 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 pengő. The rate of inflation was 4.19 quintillion (4.19 x 10¹⁸) percent.

Just 15 days ago, the Zimbabwean dollar was valued at $60 billion to $1 US. To put this in startling perspective, inflation rates in January hovered around 50,000% and the Zim dollar was valued at $2 million to $1 US.

The BBC reports today the official rate of inflation in Zimbabwe is now 2,200,200%. 

The figure is the first official assessment of prices in the troubled African nation since February, when the rate of inflation stood at 165,000%.

Zimbabwe, once one of the richest countries in Africa, has descended into economic chaos largely blamed on the policies of President Robert Mugabe.

…

In May, the central bank issued a 500m Zimbabwe dollar banknote, worth US$2 at the time of issue, to try to ease cash shortages amid the world’s highest rate of inflation.

This is in stark contrast with the situation at independence in 1980 when one Zimbabwe dollar was worth more than US$1.

We’ve heard that prices are changing so fast, if you’re lucky enough to find something on the shelves at the stores, by the time you reach the register to pay for it, the price has doubled.
 

Sokwanele.com reports:

The USD, trading at over Z$30 billion to 1 on Friday [June 27th] opened [Tuesday July 1] at over Z$60 billion.

In breaking-news this morning, German paper company Giesecke & Devrient GmbH of Munich has stopped supplying the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe with bank note paper with “immediate effect” under mounting international pressure.

The image above shows the new 50 000 000 000 000 note, released on the 15th May and has just come into circulation — never forget to put back the three zeros removed by Gideon Gono, Governor of the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank, in 2006.

via Sokwanele. (Sokwanele means “enough is enough” in Shona and Ndebele)

As a result, the economy here is now in free-fall.

When I arrived in Harare on Monday, the Zimbabwean dollar had fallen to 9 billion to the US dollar. On Tuesday it was 12 billion, and on Wednesday 15 billion.

Inflation is said to be 165,000%.

One member of my team bought some apples at a supermarket. In between taking them off the shelves and walking over to the check-out desk, he was told apologetically that the price had doubled.

Robert Mugabe blames all this on the western world and its sanctions.

Some people clearly believe him.

Others feel their country is collapsing because of his disastrous management of its affairs.

As a result of today’s vote Mr Mugabe’s rule will continue.

So will Zimbabwe’s collapse.

via Yahoo! Finance