Author: Steven Sahiounie

Australian and Japanese markets are both trading higher even as most Asian markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday Monday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was 0.92% higher to end the day at 29,123.18, while the Topix was up 1% to finish at 2,078.06. Japan’s purchasing managers index for April came in at 49.5, its softest contraction in six months, according to the au Jibun bank. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.35% and closed at 7,334.6, as the country saw its factory activity in April contracting at its fastest pace in 35 months, with private surveys from Juno Bank showing its purchasing managers index…

The World Economic Forum said that the global labor market will be affected by some massive disruptions over the next five years, leading to the disappearance of 14 million jobs worldwide. The World Economic Forum, which hosts a gathering of global leaders in Davos, Switzerland, each year, found that employers expect to create 69 million new jobs by 2027 and eliminate 83 million jobs. This will result in a net loss of 14 million jobs, equivalent to 2 percent of current employment. The forum’s report saw that the spread of artificial intelligence will be a positive and negative force, because companies…

The Egyptian Ministry of Supply announced an increase in the prices of ration commodities, starting from May 2023, which includes 32 items of commodities spent on ration cards. Ramadan Al-Shahat, director of the media office at the Ministry of Supply, said that the prices of food commodities have not increased for about four years, and there are 32 food commodities distributed on ration cards. He explained that the Ministry of Supply pumps 4,000 tons of sugar per day, 3,000 tons of oil on a daily basis, and 1,000 tons of rice. The director of the media office at the Ministry…

The US financial authorities seized the California-based First Republic bank. It is expected to be acquired by the “JP Morgan” bank, according to what the government regulator for the sector announced today, Monday, after the failure of efforts to rescue the troubled bank. “To protect depositors, the FDIC is entering into a buyout and acquisition agreement with JPMorgan Chase, the National Association, and Columbus, Ohio to take over all deposits and all assets of First Republic Bank,” the FDIC said in a statement. This article was originally published by RT. Photo by: RTE

Lebanon recorded the highest food price inflation rate in the global ranking, at a rate of 261% as an annual rate of change for the period from the end of February 2022 to the end of February 2023. According to the World Bank report, Lebanon outperformed Zimbabwe, which ranked second, by a double difference, by 128%, revealing that the food price inflation rate is still high around the world and in all income groups, as 70.6% of the countries are low-income and 90% are low-income countries. 9.0% of lower-middle-income countries and 87.0% of upper-middle-income countries have witnessed overall inflation rates that exceeded…

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi talked about reducing the burden on the state from the dollar crisis, during his support for the Futech factory for the production of energy-saving equipment, which produces 50% energy-saving lamps. Addressing the factory’s board of directors, Eng. Mohamed Helmy, the president said, “I am ready to support you that you make the local component in your product more than 60%… I hope we reach more than 90% or 100%.” He added, “If we were able to reach a complete or almost complete local component of the product, it would not burden the state, in addition…

They disrupted the work of plants that manufacture ammunition and hardware for Ukrainian troops, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov reported On Sunday night, Russian forces delivered a massive strike on Ukrainian defense facilities, disrupting the work of plants that manufacture ammunition and hardware for Ukrainian troops, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Monday. “Last night, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation conducted a massive missile attack with air-and sea-based high-precision weapons on Ukrainian defense facilities. The target was reached. All designated facilities were hit,” Konashenkov said. Source: Tass

Beijing’s top diplomat argues that developing countries, especially those in Africa, should be better represented in the body China’s top diplomat has called for developing nations to have more of a say at the UN Security Council. Wang Yi’s remarks came a week after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made a similar suggestion, saying Western powers are overrepresented in the key international body. During a meeting with Kuwait and Austria’s ambassadors to the UN, Tareq Albanai and Alexander Marschik, on Saturday, Wang said: “The reform of the Security Council should uphold fairness and justice, increase the representation and voice of…

United Nations are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said In view of the worsening situation in Sudan, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, ordered to send to the northeastern African country his deputy Martin Griffiths, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. “In light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Secretary General Antonio Guterres is sending UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths to the region immediately,” the statement reads. “The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in…

Egypt joined a group of Arab countries to study reducing dependence on the dollar in its international trade dealings, especially importing food commodities and raw materials from China, India and Russia. Egypt is the largest importer of wheat in the world. The choice of the yuan, the rupee and the ruble is given great attention. According to Egyptian Minister of Supply Ali Moselhi: “We are seriously considering importing from countries by adopting their local currencies and the Egyptian pound, and we have crossed a large part of this long track with China, India and Russia.” However, he made it clear, in…