Author: Steven Sahiounie

Unemployment Claims in the United States increased from 229K to 242K, beating expectations of 240K. The Labor Department said that jobless claims in the United States for the week ending April 29 amounted to 242,000, an increase of 13,000 compared to the previous week, indicating that the average was 239,250, an increase of 3,500 from the average for the previous week. The insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending April 22, which is 0.1 percentage point lower than the previous week. The insured unemployment rate was 1,805,000. While the moving average for 4 weeks was 1 million 828 thousand…

The European Central Bank decided in its meeting today, Thursday, to raise the base interest rate by 25 basis points from 3.5% to 3.75% annually, the highest level since 2008. The regulator said in a statement: “The Governing Council decided to raise the three main interest rates of the European Central Bank by 25 basis points. The interest rate on major refinancing operations and the interest rates on the margin credit line and the deposit line will be increased to 3.75%, 4% and 3.25%, respectively. As of May 10, 2023.” The European Central Bank also expressed its willingness to adjust…

Russian President Vladimir Putin considered today, Thursday, that the decline in Russia’s public debt is a good indicator, especially when compared to other countries, including developed countries. Putin said in a meeting with Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov on the current situation of the Russian economy: “14.9% in Russia (public debt-to-GDP ratio), in the United States the index is at 121.7%, in the euro area it is 90.9%, and in Germany it is 66.5%, In France, at 111.1%, our public debt is at a good level.” For his part, the Russian Minister of Economic Development indicated that by…

The unemployment rate in Russia last March reached 3.5%, at the historical low recorded by the index last February, according to data published by the Russian Statistical Agency, “Rossstat” yesterday. The total number of unemployed in Russia in March 2023 reached the level of 2.609 million people, which is 26,000 less than in February 2023. The previous historical level was recorded in January of this year, when the index reached 3.6%. Prior to that, the unemployment rate was in the period from November to December of the year 2022, at 3.7%, and in the period from September to October of…

The French airline has been forced to take longer routes due to being barred from Russian airspace Air France, which has been struggling to compete with Chinese rivals since being banned from Russian airspace last year, wants the government to limit Chinese airlines’ access to France, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. People familiar with the situation told the outlet that the French flagship carrier is arguing that Chinese airlines enjoy an unfair advantage, while others are forced to take longer routes to Asia to avoid flying over Russia. Air France is looking to President Emmanuel Macron to introduce taxes or other…

The presidents of Argentina and Brazil have announced plans to continue working on the development of a mechanism allowing them to avoid using the US dollar in bilateral trade. Crisis-hit Argentina is seeking to rebuild its reserves to cover trade costs and future debt repayments as a key component of a major debt deal with international creditors. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentinian counterpart Alberto Fernandez were expected this week to reveal the new mechanism allowing Argentine firms to continue trading with Brazil without draining dollars from the country’s reserves. However, the leaders announced following a…

A move to reconnect Rosselkhozbank could reportedly facilitate an extension of the Black Sea grain deal The reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the international SWIFT payment system is part of discussions on extending the Black Sea grain deal, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has claimed. The issue is among Moscow’s conditions for the continuation of the agreement to allow Ukrainian grain exports. “Our efforts continue, we hope for results. The main problem here and the reason why Russia extended the deal for 60 days [in March] is the obstacles to the export of Russian agricultural products. These…

Moscow has pledged to reduce output by 500,000 barrels a day in response to Western sanctions Aggregate flows of Russian crude jumped to 4.08 million barrels per day (bpd) in the seven days to April 28, despite the Western sanctions and Moscow’s output cut, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing tanker-tracking data. The exports reportedly exceeded 4 million bpd for only the second time since the start of 2022. According to the report, shipments via the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Pacific were all higher, with flows via the Arctic unchanged from the previous week. The figures excluded volumes from Ust-Luga…

Prices for natural gas in the EU are expected to soar ahead of next winter, putting the bloc at risk of a renewed energy crunch, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing industry analysts. The cost of gas futures could exceed €100 ($110) per megawatt hour, or over $1,000 per thousand cubic meters, from the current €40 ($44) per megawatt hour, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Samantha Dart, as cited by the agency. “Early winter cold is the scariest thing,” she said in an interview on the sidelines of the Flame gas conference in Amsterdam, adding that prices above €100 were “very realistic.” The expert…

Mid-sized lenders have shed market value, fueling concerns over the health of the financial system Shares of several regional US lenders plunged on Tuesday after the collapse of First Republic Bank, the third major casualty of the biggest crisis to hit the country’s banking sector since 2008. Los Angeles-based PacWest Bancorp, which has $41.2 billion in assets, and Arizona-based Western Alliance Bancorp, which has $68 billion in assets, led the steep selloff. Shares of both lenders were down by at least 15% on Tuesday, triggering investor concerns about the financial health of other mid-sized banks. The pair has shed…