Author: Steven Sahiounie

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, recorded a net profit in the first quarter of 2023 of 350.2 billion rubles (about $4.37 billion), according to the credit institution’s data. “The bank’s net profit in the first three months of 2023 exceeded the level of 350 billion rubles, and the return on shareholders’ equity reached, and in the month of March alone, the bank reaped 125.3 billion rubles of net profit,” Sberbank said in a statement. He added that the retail loan portfolio last March grew by 2.3% and exceeded 12.6 trillion rubles and showed growth in all sectors: mortgages, consumer lending and…

Shiba Inu (SHIB), the dog-meme-inspired ERC-20 token that powers the Shiba Inu web3 ecosystem, has had a higher market capitalization than Tron (TRX), the cryptocurrency that powers the Tron blockchain protocol, since mid-March. This partially reflects suppression of the TRX price owing to news last month that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is going after the Tron blockchain’s founder Justin Sun over alleged securities fraud. Shiba Inu last had a market capitalization of around $6.5 billion, while Tron’s was closer to $6.0 billion. That makes the two cryptocurrencies the 14th and 15th largest in the world by market…

The BRICS countries outperformed for the first time the seven most advanced powers in the world, with BRICS providing 31.5% of global GDP, compared to 30.7% for the seven most advanced powers. This came according to what was reported by the newspaper “Le Journal du Dimanche”, and the newspaper’s columnist Michael Block said that this conciliation, along with the demographic superiority of the “BRICS” group, refuted the myths about developing countries and proved the emergence of an advanced power over the United States. According to the British consulting firm Acorn Macro Consulting, the BRICS group currently has more economic weight…

The global economic slowdown will continue this year, but Asia will remain “a bright spot,” according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). India and China will account for half of global growth, with “some momentum” expected to come from emerging economies, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has predicted. The IMF chief predicted that the global economy would grow at less than 3% in 2023, in line with the fund’s January estimate of 2.9%. Georgieva said the pattern would remain over the next five years. She stated that the projections represent the IMF’s “lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990, and [are] well below the average of…

In the next 10-15 years, rates will slow, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian economy’s growth potential will be limited to 1% until 2035, since the factors that previously contributed to GDP growth have been exhausted, experts from the Institute for Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) have warned. According to the institute’s report, which was seen by the Vedomosti business daily, Russia’s economic growth has for a decade been determined by the rate of increase in exports. Average annual GDP growth has reportedly been around 1%, while exports have grown by 2.5% annually. The RAS noted…

Moscow provides 34% of the Asian country’s imports, according to numbers cited by Bloomberg India’s purchases of Russian oil reached an all-time high of 1.64 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russian crude exports to India slightly exceeded the shipment volumes of 1.62 million bpd recorded in February. Russia has now been India’s leading oil supplier for six consecutive months. Data also showed that Indian imports of Russian oil in March saw significant year-over-year growth. In March 2022, the South Asian country purchased just 68,600 bpd, around 24 times less…

Bitcoin started the week climbing back above $28,000, as markets returned from the Easter holidays. The move saw the world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly break out of a key resistance level of $28,500. Ethereum was also higher, as it closed in on the $1,900 level. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) was back above $28,000 to start the week, as market sentiment shifted towards the bulls following the Easter break. BTC/USD rose to a high of $28,532.83 earlier in today’s session, after trading at a low of $27,828.48 the day before. As a result of the move, BTC/USD marginally moved past a ceiling at…

Ethereum (ETH) continues to be the top dog when it comes to generating fees in the blockchain world, signaling its unwavering adoption and growth. In an April 10 report, blockchain data firm Token Terminal revealed that Ethereum generated more than double the fees of its nearest competitor over the past six months, raking in a staggering $743 million in cumulative daily fees. Meanwhile, TRON, Ethereum’s closest rival, generated less than half at $282 million, with bitcoin (BTC) generating just under $80 million during the same period. Low Ethereum fees are still challenging for non-whale users Token Terminal stresses the importance…

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, started this week on a solid upward trajectory and has remained stable around the $28,400 level. Similarly, Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency, has gained substantial traction and is approaching the $1,900 mark in the wake of the upcoming Shanghai update scheduled for April 12. So, the total value of all cryptocurrencies on the market was just slightly higher at about $1.18 trillion or up less than 0.5 percent in the last 24 hours. The total trade volume increased by nearly 11% to $29.98 billion. So, the total value of all cryptocurrencies on the…

Since the center-left government raised wealth taxes to 1.1%, a record number of Norway’s richest are fleeing to low-tax countries, The Guardian said in a report on Monday. Research conducted by Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper found that in 2022, over 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left the country – more than that in the previous 13 years combined – while more super-wealthy people are expected to move away this year over the tax increase passed last November, which will eventually cost the government tens of millions NOK of lost tax income. Switzerland was the favourite destination for many of them due to its significantly lower…