Ghana has 1.2 trillion cube feet of gas in the Jubilee field, which could meet the requirement of 15,000 barrels of crude oil needed to operate the Aboadze Thermal Plant. There are 1.8 billion barrels of crude oil (recoverable reserves) in the Jubilee field, making it single biggest in Africa and second in the world.

Joy Business’ checks at the Collateral Registry indicate a lot more banks are accepting movable assets as guarantees for loans. This is evident by the number of transactions involving banks enquiring about the assets submitted by individuals and businesses in their loan applications.

Inflation for July was 9.46 percent, a marginal decline from the previous month’s figure of 9.52. This is the thirteenth month in a row that inflation has dropped.

An investment management consultant at Stanbic Bank has advised investors against taking hasty decisions to retire their investments following the significant drop in inflation to a single digit. Mr Kwabena Boamah said the drop had been matched by a drop in the policy rate of the Bank of Ghana, which had compelled banks to respond by lowering their base rates.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has said he will commit the majority of his estimated $13.5bn (£8.8bn) fortune to philanthropy after his death. Mr Allen follows fellow co-founder Bill Gates in pledging billions of dollars to projects designed to help others.

After performing creditably well against the major foreign currencies in the first five months of the year, the Ghana Cedi faces hard times in the coming months. Analysts predict that the local currency might depreciate between 12-15 percent on year-on-year terms against the major foreign currencies.

Utility service providers in the country have received a $470million push from the World Bank, with the Sunon Asogli Power Plant also ready to release its first 200 megawatts of electricity next month. The Energy Minister, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, told the Daily Graphic after a tour of the Sunon Asogli Power Plant at Kpong, near Tema, yesterday that the amount provided by the World Bank was being used to overhaul the electricity sector and for the improvement of water supply in the country.

Prudential Bank Limited (PB), an indigenous bank, which promotes Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the country, has opened a new branch at Suame-Maakro, in the Kumasi Metropolis to improve on the economic activities of the community. In a statement, the management said it now had 30 branches across the country, in addition to three other agencies operating as subsidiaries.

Businesses and industry have welcomed the cut in the policy rate but wants commercial banks to accordingly reduce their lending rates as quickly as possible. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana last Friday cut the by 150 basis points to 13.5 percent.

With inflation-average change in price level expected to remain low till the end of the year, the Bank of Ghana has predicted an end of year inflation of 9.2 percent for this year. This comes after the Bank of Ghana cut its policy rate-the prime rate from 15 percent to 13.5 percent on Friday.

 According to the Central Bank, the target would be achieved in part by lower food and petroleum prices as well as fiscal consolidation.