RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
In Zimbabwe, power-sharing talks have hit something of a snag over long-time President Robert Mugabe's insistence that he keep the power by staying on as president. Mugabe wants opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who says he is the rightful winner of the recent presidential election, to be a nearly powerless vice president.
Zimbabwe has come up with one simple solution, if you could call it that, for one of its many economic problems: hyper-inflation. A two million percent inflation rate has made its currency nearly useless in an economy that has virtually collapsed. So, this Friday, Zimbabwe will knock off 10 zeros from its currency. That will reduce 10 billion Zimbabwean dollars to one dollar. And voila, a single dollar will suddenly buy a lot more. At least Zimbabweans will no longer have to carry a car full of money to buy a single loaf of bread. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
