Zimbabwe will issue new notes and coins soon to replace the country’s quasi currency that was introduced three years ago in a failed attempt to counter a crippling shortage of cash and that’s pushed inflation to the highest rate since 2008. The return to a fully fledged local currency exchangeable outside the country’s borders will be backed by an undisclosed amount of foreign-exchange reserves, gold and loans, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said in an interview on Aug. 15 in the capital, Harare. A Treasury spokesman on Monday said it first needed to compile data on the country’s reserves before commenting on how much ... (full story)