UPI en Español  |   UPI Asia  |   About UPI  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Zimbabwe introduces $100B bank note

|
 
Published: July 19, 2008 at 6:47 PM

HARARE, Zimbabwe, July 19 (UPI) -- Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe hit another milestone Saturday when the central bank introduced a $100 billion bill.

The new bills can circulate legally beginning Monday, CNN reported. But as large as the amount might seem, it is only enough to buy four oranges and not enough to cover the cost of one loaf of bread.

The country has been in an economic tailspin for several years. President Robert Mugabe, blaming profiteers and speculators for the destruction of the economy, announced this week that the government would provide basic necessities at a low subsidized price to end the inflation.

The government announced this week inflation had hit 2.2 million percent.

Outsiders blame much of the inflation on the government-backed takeover of white-owned farms by "war veterans" loyal to Mugabe. The country went from being an agricultural exporter to being unable to feed itself.

Topics: Robert Mugabe
© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
'Star Trek Into Darkness' screening NBC upfronts Met Ball 2013
'Great Gatsby' premieres in New York Spire raised on top of One WTC 2013: Celebrity break ups and divorces
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 18
Palestinian  Security Forces Patrol the Border With Egypt.
View Caption
A members of the Hamas security forces patrol the border area between Gaza and Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip May 20, 2013. Egyptian police angered by the kidnapping of seven colleagues by Islamist gunmen kept a crossing into the Gaza Strip closed again for four days, stranding hundreds of Palestinian travellers, As Tunnels between Egypt and Gaza closed and border was declared as military zone. Palestinian security forces patrol around the border, witnesses said. UPI/Ismael Mohamad
fark
One of the last three surviving Jewish fighters from the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943 has died...
Senator who voted against disaster aid for Sandy: now is not the time to discuss my position on...
Gay man comes out as Boy Scout
3rd Annual Geek Pride Night @SkyBar in Bowling Green, OH, 8p May 22, Farkers welcome to the party...
Vertical Pink Houses may be the future of farming. John Mellencamp unavailable for comment
Photoshop this foxy gaze