Author: Steven Sahiounie

Crude prices have soared following the extension of output cuts by top OPEC+ producers Saudi Arabia and Russia Global oil demand will remain resilient despite a recent voluntary production cut by Saudi Arabia and economic headwinds facing major crude consumer China, according to Saudi Aramco’s chief executive, Amin Nasser. Speaking to reporters on a media call on Monday, Nasser predicted that Chinese oil demand will continue to grow. “There is still a lot of mileage for China and the economy (to pick) up,” the executive was quoted as saying by Reuters. Nasser added that the aviation sector was at 85% compared…

HONG KONG—Country Garden Holdings, a 31-year-old property developer that had been lauded by China’s authorities as a model for others, missed interest payments on two U.S. dollar bonds, marking a new stage of distress for the country’s real-estate market. Country Garden has a 30-day grace period to make the interest payments, before bondholders can send a notice of default to the company. Its Hong Kong-listed shares, which have lost more than half their value since the start of this year, plummeted 14% on Tuesday and led a selloff in property and other Chinese stocks. The developer’s cash crunch shows how…

Despite hopes that high inflation is cooling, Americans are expected to spend a record amount on school supplies this year, and many families in Los Angeles are feeling the squeeze. At Target and Walmart stores over the weekend, children and their parents perused the aisles for their back-to-school essentials, such as pencils and glue sticks. For some, excitement quickly turned into negotiation. Shauna McDonnell, 49, had to put her foot down with her 6-year-old, Willow, who begged for a $30 water bottle at Target in Burbank. McDonnell said prices have been “pretty good” at Target, but she finds herself debating whether…

CNN —  Consumer resilience has helped keep the economy strong through the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hiking cycle. But is that strength holding, or is it faltering? It depends where you look. From Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” tour and the “Barbenheimer” craze to Taylor Swift’s “Eras” shows, US consumers have flexed their spending power even as the economy cools. Consumers have more cash on hand now than before the pandemic, according to a July analysis from the JPMorgan Chase Institute. But with inflation still well above the Fed’s 2% target, a dollar doesn’t go as far as it used to in 2019. Plus, consumer spending, which makes…

Israeli occupation forces today detained 25 Palestinians, mostly ex-prisoners, during a large-scale detention campaign across the occupied West Bank. At least 13 Palestinians, mostly ex-prisoners, were detained by Israeli occupation soldiers following a raid into their houses in town of Kobar, to the northwest of Ramallah city. In Jerusalem, Israeli police raided the old city, where they detained three Palestinians. The police carried out a military raid in the town of Abu Dis, east of the city, and detained two. In north of the West Bank, a special Israeli forces unit raided the town Zababdeh town, south of Jenin, and kidnapped two siblings. The soldiers…

Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi have noted their rejection of confrontational policies employed by the West against Russia and China, in an attempt to hinder the development. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed several global issues, including the Ukrainian crisis and bilateral relations during a telephone call, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. “The parties highly appreciated the ongoing development of Russian-Chinese relations, which demonstrate stability and positive dynamics amid general geopolitical instability on the planet,” the ministry said. The officials “touched upon a number of hot regional topics, including the Ukrainian crisis,”…

President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in the Jordanian capital Amman today where he held talks immediately after arrival with King Abdullah .The two leaders discussed bilateral relations, common issues and the latest political developments Traveling with the president are Hussein al-Sheikh, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Majed Faraj, Head of the General Intelligence, Majdi al-Khalidi, Advisor to the President of Diplomatic Affairs, and Atallah Khari, Palestine’s Ambassador to Jordan Source: WAFA

An explosive device planted by terrorists in a car went off in Yusuf al-Azmeh suburb in Damascus countryside, a source at Damascus countryside Police Command said. SANA reporter said that no causalities have been reported so far. Source: SANA

Russian border areas, especially in the Belgorod Region, are regularly shelled by Ukrainian troops Kiev is not going to move the conflict onto Russia’s territory, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said. “Ukraine is not going to continue the war on Russia’s territory. This has never been our goal,” he said in an interview with the Latin American mass media that was posted on La Nacion’s YouTube channel on Monday. Russian border areas, especially in the Belgorod Region, are regularly shelled by Ukrainian troops. Apart from that, Ukrainian forces are using unmanned aerial vehicles to stage attacks on targets in Russia,…

The sanctions imposed on Russian sectors and the collective bailout of several European conglomerates have resulted in large losses for Europe’s firms that operate in Russia. Europe’s largest firms have suffered at least 100 billion euros in direct losses after the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, according to the Financial Times. This came as a result of European governments’ decisions to sanction several sectors of the Russian economy, such as the financial and energy sectors. A survey of 600 European groups’ annual financial statements revealed that 176 companies recorded asset impairments, foreign exchange-related charges, and other one-off…