For prosperity in Africa, what is needed is a holistic approach that focuses on the building blocks that empower Africans to help themselves.

In 2011, the Government Mortgage Complex accounted for 88 percent of all first-mortgage originations in the United States, with the government also controlling an estimated 90 percent of the student loan market. The government’s growing dominance in the home mortgage and student loan categories is cause for concern, posing a threat to private investors, borrowers, and taxpayers.

Africa can best hedge against inherent risks with Chinaby working to enhance its relations with other rising powers in the developing world.

Having relied too heavily on a strong rand over the past few years to contain inflation, the Reserve Bank is now going to have to raise interest rates aggressively to counter the inflationary effects of a weaker currency.

Over the past few weeks, there has been a dramatic sell-off in internationally traded commodities as the world"s major central banks continued to drain liquidity.

The collapse of the rand in South Africa should not have taken policy makers by surprise.

It is essential that the US provide more humanitarian relief, push the United Nations to help, and support civil society. Violent conflict will be the result unless more external aid is provided.

The future is on the way.  Leading-edge innovators, we are assured, have already moved on, and are earnestly focusing on the just the sort of problems - manufacturing, energy, transportation (and I'd add healthcare) - that urgently require imaginative solutions.