Author: Steven Sahiounie

The US debt limit deal, negotiated by President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy this past weekend, cleared a key hurdle late Tuesday evening: The powerful House Rules Committee voted 7-6 to advance the debt ceiling bill to the floor. Investors breathed a sigh of relief after the bill cleared the Committee: Some of the bill’s loudest conservative critics are members of the panel. The timeframe to get the bill passed through both chambers of Congress and signed into law is extremely tight. Lawmakers are racing the clock to avert a catastrophic default ahead of June 5, the…

Amid the US debt ceiling turmoil, a potential recession and the upcoming Fed meeting, Wall Street has a lot on its plate. Given the circumstances, it is understandable that investors may need to prioritize which emergency to address at each moment. Even as US lawmakers race to prevent a catastrophic default, the lingering effects of the regional banking crisis have not been completely extinguished. The failure of First Republic Bank in early May was the third collapse of a major bank this year after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Together, the three banks represented about $559 billion in total…

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy finally reached an agreement to avert the United States’ first default on its debt — but you may want to hold your applause. There could be an even more dramatic second act to the debt ceiling drama. Here’s why: It’s not a done deal The House of Representatives is set to vote on the bill on Wednesday, less than a week before the June 5 X-date. If the House passes the bill as expected, it would then need to be passed by the Senate and sent to Biden to be signed into law. It’s an…

Financial markets could face a sharp downturn in the event of any further shocks to the global economy, European Central Bank Vice-President Luis de Guindos told CNBC on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday, the ECB published its May Financial Stability Review, saying that the euro area’s stability outlook remained fragile in the aftermath of recent turmoil in the banking sector, which saw the failure of several U.S. regional banks and the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. Although it determined that bank resilience in a higher interest rate environment was not a concern in the euro area, with fundamentals remaining…

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani confirmed today, Wednesday, that his government is continuing to reduce dependence on imported gas. “The government has placed the electricity problem among the priorities, and dealing with this chronic problem requires high work and preparation, because the citizen is waiting for solutions that will end the ongoing electricity crisis,” he said, during the inauguration of high-voltage substations at the Al-Quds and Al-Rashid electrical stations north of Baghdad. He added, “The government is proceeding with its plans to invest associated gas and natural gas in the field of energy, in order to reduce dependence on…

The Central Bank of Egypt directed banks to stop using prepaid cards in international transactions, whether for cash withdrawals or online purchases in any foreign currency, according to some bank officials. “Masrawy” website said, “Some of the public have circulated on social media sites in recent hours a publication to stop using prepaid cards, whether for online purchases or outside Egypt, in any foreign currency other than the Egyptian pound, and some banks have confirmed that.” Two bank chiefs said, in response to Masrawy’s question, that there are instructions issued by the Central Bank this month to stop international transactions…

Many countries have launched projects aimed at diversifying international shipping routes and shipping goods within a shorter period of time than traditional routes, foremost of which is the Suez Canal. The following are the most prominent transportation projects nominated to be a competitor to the Suez Canal as a global shipping artery: Northern Navigation Corridor: The Northern Navigation Corridor runs through the Arctic region and connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans across the Arctic Ocean. Russia is working with great interest on the development of the sea corridor. Moscow plans to use the corridor to export oil and gas to foreign…

The head of Rosneft has proposed using the Asia-linked benchmark for Urals crude trading, the outlet reports The CEO of Russian oil major Rosneft has proposed using the Asia-focused Dubai oil price benchmark for its flagship Urals crude, Kommersant reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The Urals price is currently pegged to the Brent blend, which is earmarked mostly for Western markets. But while Moscow is shjifting oil sales towards Asia, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin has sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin proposing to tie the calculation of oil taxes to the Dubai benchmark,…

Major US lender Citigroup has made a deal to transfer the credit card portfolio of its Russian unit (Citibank) to commercial bank Uralsib, several media outlets reported on Tuesday, citing Citibank’s press service. Privately-owned Uralsib is among Russia’s top 30 banks by assets. According to a statement from Citibank, the transfer of the credit card portfolio will occur on condition that card holders agree to the action. “Citigroup has entered into an agreement with PJSC Bank Uralsib, under which, subject to their consent, existing credit card holders of JSC Citibank will be offered the opportunity to switch to Uralsib in…

The majority of cross-border transactions are already carried out in national currencies Trade between Russia and China has already reached record levels and should be supported by the further development of economic ties, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Wednesday. Speaking to TASS at a business forum in Shanghai, Siluanov stated that bilateral trade is growing at an unprecedented pace and is on course to surpass a $200 billion target this year. “If recently the figure of $200 billion seemed far off, this year we are likely to exceed it,” the official said. Economic ties have been bolstered by…