Author: Steven Sahiounie

French taxpayers declared some $442 million worth of crypto trading profits in the most recent tax year, per the nation’s tax body. Per Le Figaro, the figure was “substantial,” but was “10 times lower than the estimates of the gains made in 2021.” The body made its claim based on the number of people disclosing their gains on tax returns. However, the newspaper quoted a Chainalysis report that claimed that “the gains made in 2021 from cryptoasset trading in France amounted to more than $4 billion.” The newspaper wrote: “This figure is 10 times more than the amount declared to public finance…

The Ethereum price has dropped to $1,886 today, making for a 1.5% fall in the past 24 hours as the cryptocurrency market as a whole also dips slightly. ETH has now declined by 2.5% in the past week, although it remains up by 10% in the last 30 days and by 57% since the start of the year. The altcoin’s recent movements mean that its average volatility has increased since the beginning of April and since the end of 2022, implying that further movements (either up or down) are likelier now than at any other period in its recent history.…

Szalay-Bobrovniczky recalls the necessity to combat illegal migration from the south as he called for support to Western Balkan countries and stated that his country strengthens NATO’s eastern flank. At a meeting with the Bucharest Nine (B9) member states, Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky urged caution regarding the support of NATO’s expansion. “Hungary supports the open door policy [on NATO expansion] but still calls on its partners to be cautious. All such decisions can only be made if the applicant countries fully comply with the conditions, as well as with the full NATO allied consensus,” he said as cited by the…

U.S. stocks rose Thursday, boosted by strong results from Meta Platforms. The Nasdaq Composite jumped around 1.4%. The S&P 500 climbed 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 231 points, or 0.7%. Meta shares leapt more than 13% as the company reported quarterly revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. The company also issued stronger-than expected guidance for the current period. Teladoc, Comcast and Merck were also among companies trading higher after reporting earnings. But Caterpillar, which is often seen as a barometer of the global economy, traded down more than 3% despite the Dow member posting much better-than-anticipated results. Amazon and Intel will share their quarterly results after the closing bell Thursday amid what has been seen as a…

Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday, finding some support after heavy losses in the previous two sessions that were driven by fears of a U.S. recession and an increase in Russian oil exports which dulled the impact of OPEC production cuts. Brent crude was trading at $77.98 a barrel, up 29 cents, or 0.4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude added 20 cents or 0.3% to trade at $74.50. Oil prices dropped almost 4% on Wednesday, extending sharp losses in the previous session with recession fears overshadowing a bigger-than-expected fall in U.S. crude inventories. As of Wednesday’s close, Brent is down 4.9% for the…

Oil producer group OPEC on Thursday lashed out at the International Energy Agency, saying the world’s leading energy authority should be “very careful” about undermining industry investments. OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais said finger-pointing and misrepresenting the actions of OPEC and OPEC+ was “counterproductive.” He added that the influential group of 23 oil-exporting exporting nations was not targeting oil prices, but instead focusing on market fundamentals. OPEC said that its comments came in response to fresh criticism from the IEA, without providing further details. In a Bloomberg TV interview on Wednesday, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol used similar language in warning OPEC about boosting…

Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Faysal Mikdad, discussed ,in a phone call, with his Omani counterpart, Badr Albusaidi, the bilateral relations between Syria and Oman in various fields. Minister Mikdad expressed Syria’s satisfaction with the level of existing relations between the two brotherly countries, especially after President Bashar al-Assad’s recent visit to the Sultanate of Oman. The two ministers discussed the latest developments in the region and agreed to communicate continuously to discuss issues of common concern. Source: SANA

The Chinese foreign minister noted that Beijing is ready to work with the international community, including Central Asian states, in order to reach a “common denominator” for resolution of the conflict in Ukraine No matter how complicated the conflict in Ukraine may be, it must be resolved at a negotiation table, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said during the meeting with foreign ministers of Central Asian countries in Xi An in northwestern China. “No matter how complicated the crisis may be, it must be resolved by negotiations; no matter how complicated a conflict may be, it must be resolved only…

In light of the decline of the dollar and the rise in inflation in the United States, a former official in the White House indicated that the “BRICS” currency may shake the throne of the dollar. “The BRICS currency shakes the dominance of the dollar, and paves the way for finally de-dollarization,” said Joseph W. Sullivan, senior advisor at the “Lindsey Group” and an economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, during the administration of former President Donald Trump. Foreign Policy quoted  the official as saying that last month, Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma Alexander Babakov said, “Russia…

Data issued by the Indian Ministry of Commerce revealed that Russian exports to India in the incomplete fiscal year 2022-2023 hit a record high and amounted to $41.6 billion. According to official figures, Russia remains India’s fifth largest trading partner. Results for the 11 months of the fiscal year, which began in April 2022 and ended in March 2023, show that India imported products from Russia worth more than $41.6 billion, which is 4.2 times more than the previous record set at the end of the entire last fiscal year. At the same time, the value of Indian products exported to…