Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is evacuated after a “smoke bomb” is hurled in his direction as he prepared to give a speech in Wakayama city, Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated, at about 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, from a venue at the Wakayama fishing port where he was set to give a speech after explosions sounded in the vicinity. Local reports noted that the PM, who had visited Wakayama city to give a public speech in support of the upcoming election in the district, was not harmed. The explosion sound turned out to have resulted from…

Macron is expected to sign the bill within the next 48 hours. This decision counts as Macron’s victory during his second term as president.   According to RIA Novosti, hundreds gathered in front of the Paris City Hall on Friday after the French Constitutional Council approved the pension reform set by President Emmanuel Macron. Flares were fired and loudspeakers echoed the words: “Rise up, Paris!” and “We’re here; the decision is ours!” as battle songs were sung by the crowds. Sandrine, a retired woman, told RIA Novosti: “This is horrible! [French President Emmanuel] Macron needs to go, he does not stand up for the interests of…

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that China will contribute about a third of global growth this year, which will provide more opportunities for other countries. “We are pleased to see China’s recovery not only for China’s sake, but also because of the role it plays in the global economy,” she said at a press conference held yesterday on the International Monetary Fund’s global policy agenda. And she added, “China will contribute about a third of global growth this year. We have calculated that the growth of 1 percent in China turns into an estimated growth of 0.3…

Gold prices held close to their highest levels in a year on Friday as recent US economic data fueled hopes that the US Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate hike cycle. By 13:11 Moscow time, futures contracts for the yellow metal were trading at $2,055 an ounce, down slightly by 0.01% from the previous settlement price. While the spot contracts for the precious metal were traded at $ 2040.07 an ounce, a decline of 0.01% also from the closing price, according to Bloomberg agency data. Prior to that, spot contracts for resonant yellow were traded at…

The Russian Ministry of Economic Development published updated forecasts for the performance of the national economy in 2023, and the representative of the ministry said that the current ruble decline was taken into account in the ministry’s forecast for the current year. “Yes, we have this in mind (the decline in the ruble in forecasts). I can mention the fact that this weakness has not yet been transmitted directly to prices, most likely inflation will accelerate in the second half of the year,” the ministry spokesman said. He added, “Inflation will reach its lowest level in the coming months, given…

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the ministry has plans to reach a balanced budget in 2025. Speaking at a joint meeting of the Russian Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development, the minister said: “In the medium term, with the adaptation of the economy, a gradual normalization of the budget policy is planned, with access to the basic level of the budget by 2025.” The following are the most prominent statements of the Russian Finance Minister: The Russian financial system is stable. – At the end of the year 2022, the authorities were able to stabilize…

A World Bank official believes that the ruble can become an alternative to the dollar if the fiscal policy is implemented correctly, noting that the ruble settlements will stimulate the development of high-tech exports in Russia. “In my personal opinion, the ruble can become an alternative to the dollar if the fiscal policy is implemented correctly, we have all the ingredients for that,” said Roman Marshavin, a Russian official at the World Bank, in an interview with “Novosti” agency published today, Friday. According to the expert, the basic requirements for this are the presence of the lowest levels of public…

Interest payments and the shift to clean energy will add to government spending, the organization warns US public debt will continue to rise in the coming years amid increased government borrowing, the International Monetary Fund said in its Fiscal Monitor report released on Wednesday. IMF economists believe the rise will come partly because Washington is spending more on healthcare and social security, as well as clean energy projects and other domestic economic policies. The US debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 122.2% this year, just slightly above 121.7% in 2022. It is expected to rise further to 136.2% of GDP…

Economic recovery and increased demand for fuel exports are seen as the major consumption drivers China’s crude oil imports surged to their highest levels in almost three years last month as refineries have ramped up production to catch up with growing fuel export demand, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing customs data. Oil imports jumped 22.5% in March to 52.3 million tons, or 12.3 million barrels per day (bpd), representing the largest volumes of crude shipments for any month since June 2020, the figures showed. Industry experts attribute the surge in crude imports to a sharp increase in the country’s exports…

Sanctioned seaborne crude is selling above the price cap set by EU and G7 countries, the agency has revealed Russian oil exports jumped to their highest level in almost three years in March, despite Western sanctions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed in its monthly report on Friday. Russia’s daily seaborne oil supplies surged by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8.1 million bpd last month, the highest since April 2020, according to the IEA. The Paris-based agency attributed the increase largely to a rise in exports of oil products, which returned to pre-COVID levels. Deliveries of petroleum products rose…