Author: Steven Sahiounie

The loss of employees came through voluntary retirement amid an atmosphere of economic uncertainty Seoul is currently experiencing. The South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance lowered the workforce at state enterprises by over 10,700 employees from January to March amid economic uncertainty, according to media reports citing the department on Thursday.  State-owned enterprises also sold obsolete assets worth 1.4 trillion won ($1 billion) over the same time, accounting for 20.6% of the government’s aim to get rid of 6.8 trillion won in assets by the end of the year, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.  According to the data, state enterprises…

The French government hopes the cuts it will introduce will aid in reducing the country’s yearly budget deficit and public debt, which are among the biggest in the eurozone. The French government announced Thursday that public expenditure cutbacks and hoped-for higher growth will aid in reducing the country’s yearly budget deficit and public debt, which are among the biggest in the eurozone.  Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters that it is time to “cool off” on public expenditure, adding that “this is about France’s European credibility.”  France’s budget deficit reached 4.7 percent of GDP in 2022, after being stretched by the government’s “whatever…

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, has performed remarkably well over the past months. Although, the recent upticks in Bitcoin seem to be fading slightly, as it fell below the $30,000 barrier early Thursday morning. However, the reason can be attributed to the release of the latest UK inflation figures, which were beyond expectations. Meanwhile, the possible rate hikes by the US Fed as well as the US SEC’s increased crackdown on crypto firms were seen as another key factor that has been putting pressure on BTC prices. Furthermore, Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency, declined more than 5…

LONDON — U.K. inflation remained stubbornly in double digits in March, driven largely by soaring food prices, while the country’s cost-of-living crisis shows little sign of abating. The 10.1% annual headline inflation figure of Wednesday came in above consensus estimates, and the consumer price index rate sits almost a full percentage point higher than the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee projected in its February report. Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 19.2% in the 12 months to March, experiencing their sharpest annual incline in more than 45 years, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. As British households continue to…

The European Statistics Office released today, Wednesday, the final reading of the annual consumer price index in the eurozone for the month of March. The consumer price index in the euro area increased by 0.9% in March 2023 compared to the month before February 2023, and the rise is the largest increase in the past five months. On an annual basis, the reading came in line with the preliminary reading issued more than two weeks ago, and the data showed that the annual inflation for the region increased by 6.9% during the month of March, which is lower than the…

Oil prices fell, in trading today, Thursday, with renewed concerns about an economic recession with the continuation of the path of monetary tightening, which will affect global demand for crude. And by 09:34 Moscow time, US crude futures fell by 1.20% to $78.21 a barrel, while Brent crude futures fell by 0.88% to $82.39 a barrel, according to Bloomberg agency data. Yesterday, the black gold contracts closed trading down by about 2%, as US crude declined by 2.1% and recorded at the settlement of $79.16 a barrel, and “Brent” crude decreased by 1.9% to $83.12 a barrel. This article was…

China continues to reduce its investments in US Treasury bonds and bills for the seventh consecutive month. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have also reduced these investments. Data from the US Treasury Department showed that China’s investments, which ranks second in the list of major investors in US Treasury bonds and bills, amounted to about $859.4 billion in January 2023, compared to $1,299.9 billion in January 2022. As for Japan, which tops the list, its investments in these bonds in January 2023 amounted to $1,104.4 billion, compared to investments of $1,299.9 billion in January 2022. Regarding the reason for Beijing withdrawing…

Pakistani Petroleum Minister Mossadeq Malik said that Pakistan has requested its first order of oil from Russia with a discount in the price, within the framework of a bilateral agreement between the two countries. And the media quoted the Pakistani minister today, Thursday: “Pakistan will import oil from Russia according to an agreement between the two countries. It is expected that its supplies will reach 100 thousand barrels per day.” According to Malik, the first Russian oil tanker will arrive in the Pakistani port of Karachi next May, and the oil that will be received from Russia will be processed…

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian “Gazprom” company, Viktor Zubkov, announced that the company has gas reserves for a period of 100 years, and at the end of 2022 the company’s extractable gas reserves amounted to 35 trillion cubic meters. The official said today, Thursday, during his participation in a gas forum held in the capital, Moscow: “At the end of last year, the extractable reserves of “Gazprom” amounted to 35 trillion cubic meters of gas. Today, the gas reserves are sufficient for 100 years.” The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian company…

The Turkish newspaper Haber7 stated, in an article, that “Following Turkey’s successful move away from dollar settlements in international markets, France and Brazil are beginning to follow suit.” Six years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the conversion of trade into national currencies, which served as a model for the whole world, according to the article’s authors. And now the leaders of economically large countries such as Brazil and France are also talking about the need to move away from the US currency, which indicates a global rejection of “green” money. The authors of the article said: “After…