Author: Steven Sahiounie

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed that the oil market is balanced at the present time, and there is no need for an additional reduction in oil production by the “OPEC +” countries. Black gold production in Russia In remarks he made to reporters today after a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Moscow Energy Institute, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister stated that Russia will this year reduce oil and gas condensate production by 20 million tons to 515 million tons. At the end of 2022, oil production in Russia reached 535 million tons, an increase of…

First Republic says it plans to sell off assets, restructure its balance sheet, and lay off staff Shares in First Republic Bank plunged another 30% on Wednesday following a wipeout one day previously, after the struggling US lender revealed that depositors had withdrawn more than $100 billion in the first quarter. The bank’s stock dropped 49% on Tuesday after the San Francisco-based lender disclosed that it had lost 40% of its deposits, fueling fears of further bank collapses in the US. The concerns follow the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in March, leaving the US…

Russian industrial output grew in March despite expectations of a decline, according to official figures released on Wednesday. Industrial production was up 1.2% last month compared to the previous period last year, and 13.4% compared to February, data published by the Federal Statistics Service shows. An earlier survey of economists carried out by Bloomberg predicted a 1.4% decline in Russia’s industrial production. Growth was reported across a wide range of industries in March year-on-year. The biggest gains in manufacturing were made in finished metal goods (30.3%), computers, electronic and optical products (22.5%), electrical equipment (21.5%) and other transport (13.1%). There…

Wintershall says it is working on divesting from joint projects in the sanctioned country One of Europe’s leading oil and gas companies, Wintershall Dea, announced plans to completely pull out of Russia and is currently exploring ways to withdraw from joint projects in the country. “We no longer see any prospects for the energy partnership in and with Russia for the foreseeable future. Our decision is final,” Wintershall CEO Mario Mehren stated at a press conference on Wednesday. “We have been taking appropriate steps over the past weeks.”  The company is studying options to divest from its Russian assets and taking personnel…

The yuan has become the most widely used currency in Beijing’s international settlements, figures have shown The yuan surpassed the US dollar to become the most-used currency in China’s cross-border transactions last month, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing official data. Cross-border payments and receipts in yuan surged from $434.5 billion in February to a record $549.9 billion in March, according to calculations by the outlet, based on data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The Chinese currency was used in 48.4% of all cross-border transactions, reflecting a trend of shifting away from the dollar, as well as…

Buenos Aires will pay for imports in yuan, after signing a currency swap deal with Beijing Argentina will aim to pay for the bulk of its monthly imports from China in yuan rather than US dollars, Economy Minister Sergio Massa announced on Wednesday. Buenos Aires and Beijing signed a currency swap agreement last year, aimed at stemming the outflow of foreign currency from Argentina’s central bank. China is currently Argentina’s second largest trade partner after Brazil, and the second biggest destination for Argentinian exports. Argentina’s total imports from China were around $13.5 billion in 2021, according to the United Nations…

Central banks are buying the commodity as a hedge against possible sanctions, a market expert has suggested Central banks around the world are shifting away from the US dollar and turning their attention to gold as a safe haven asset, the chairman of Rockefeller International, Ruchir Sharma, has said. Prices for the commodity have surged 20% in the past six months, with demand coming not from “the usual suspects” such as large and small investors “seeking a hedge against inflation and low real interest rates,” but from “heavy buyers” like central banks, Sharma wrote in the Financial Times on Sunday.   According to the…

Taking control of strategic foreign assets in Russia will enable Moscow to respond effectively to the potential confiscation of Russian companies’ property abroad, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday allowing for the temporary takeover of foreign assets deemed critical for the country’s energy security. The Federal Property Management Agency was ordered to establish external control of the Russian subsidiaries of Finnish energy company Fortum and Germany’s Uniper. According to Peskov, the two companies’ assets were placed under the agency’s administration as soon as the decree was signed by the president.…

A failure by the US to raise its debt ceiling would lead to an economic and financial crisis in the country, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has cautioned, urging lawmakers to act and not wait “until the last minute.”  The debt ceiling is the maximum amount the US government is legally authorized to borrow to meet its obligations. Yellen warned during a meeting with business executives from California on Tuesday that a default would result in job losses and push household payments on mortgages and credit cards higher. The Treasury secretary insisted it was a “basic responsibility” of Congress to increase or suspend the…

It is noted that the Ukraine issue was touched on very briefly The presidents of the Republic of Korea and the United States, Yoon Suk-yeol and Joe Biden, did not discuss South Korean weapons supplies to Ukraine during their talks in Washington, the Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday, citing a South Korean presidential official. “The Ukraine issue was mentioned very briefly. We talked about how we’re increasing humanitarian aid, financial contributions and non-military support while watching the war conditions in Ukraine,” the official said. According to him, Seoul has maintained a policy of sending non-lethal aid only to Kiev. “We said…