Author: Steven Sahiounie

Bitcoin and Ethereum are two major cryptocurrencies that have gained significant popularity since the beginning of this year. Ethereum (ETH), which is the second-most popular cryptocurrency, recently surpassed the $2,000 milestone for the first time since May of last year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, started the new week on a positive note, remaining constant within the $30,000 level. Bitcoin reached $31,005 last week, its highest price since June 2022. However, the gaining streak in the Ethereum price was mostly driven by the success of the Shanghai Upgrade. It is worth recalling that the Shapella upgrade was implemented on April 12, and…

Revenues jumped in the first quarter as higher interest rates boosted the bank’s consumer business JPMorgan Chase reported first-quarter revenue this week that beat analysts’ expectations thanks to a nearly 50% surge in net interest income amid higher interest rates. The Wall Street bank posted a profit of $12.6 billion, or $4.10 per share, in the first three months of the year, up from $8.3 billion, or $2.63 per share, from the same period a year ago, a gain of 52%. Revenue surged 25% companywide to $39.34 billion, driven by a sharp rise in net interest income due to the US…

Beijing’s trade with Moscow has continued to grow, with both exports and imports rising significantly in March in annual terms, Chinese customs data shows. According to a report published on Thursday, Chinese exports to Russia soared by 136% year-on-year, while imports from the country jumped by 40.5%. Overall exports of Chinese cars, steel, clothing and plastics to Russia and other countries rose strongly in March. Statistics also showed that Beijing’s coal purchases from abroad more than doubled last month, hitting a three-year high. Oil imports increased by 22.5%, iron ore by 14.8%, and soybeans by 7.9%. China’s trade with Russia…

Some lenders said they would not handle payments exceeding the price limit imposed by the West Indian banks are concerned that they may not be able to process payments for Russian oil if they breach the price cap set by the EU and G7 countries, Millennium Post reports, citing oil industry sources. India, along with China, emerged as a key buyer of Russian crude after Western countries shunned supplies due to sanctions. New Delhi has been a top importer of Russian oil for six consecutive months, enjoying steep discounts offered by Moscow. However, this may change following OPEC+ production cuts,…

India and Russia are holding discussions on a free trade deal to boost their growing economic ties, the countries’ foreign ministers announced on Monday at a business dialog meeting in New Delhi. According to Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, New Delhi is in “advance agreement” on a trade deal, which Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov said would bring a guarantee of bilateral investment. Russia is traditionally a supplier of military equipment to India. This year, it has displaced Iraq as the South Asian nation’s top supplier of oil. India’s overall imports from Russia have nearly quadrupled, reaching $46.33 billion in…

“Novosti” agency stated, quoting data, that the world’s central banks reduced their international reserves in February 2023 by $276.4 billion, and this came after 3 months of growth. According to the agency’s data, which it quoted from the data of central banks in the world, central bank reserves decreased by $276.4 billion to reach $12.852 trillion. Regarding the largest holders of foreign exchange reserves in the world, the data indicated that China ($3.315 trillion), Japan ($1.226 trillion), Switzerland ($898.2 billion), Russia ($574.2 billion) and India ($560.9 billion) are the largest holders of foreign exchange reserves. At the end of the…

Oil prices stabilized, in trading today, Monday, after rising last week, in light of fears of a shortage of black gold in the markets. By 09:25 Moscow time, US crude futures fell 0.05% to $82.48 a barrel. While Brent crude futures fell by 0.05%, to $86.27 a barrel, according to Bloomberg agency data. US crude contracts ended last week’s trading at $82.52 a barrel, while Brent crude contracts ended last Friday’s trading at $86.31 a barrel. Last week, “Brent” rose by 1.4% and “West Texas Intermediate” by 2.3%, and thus the two benchmarks rose for the fourth week in a…

The US Ambassador to Warsaw, Mark Brzezinski, announced at the signing ceremony of the “Agreements of Intent” that the US Exim Bank will allocate $3 billion to implement a project in Poland to build small nuclear reactors. The American diplomat indicated another billion for the same purpose, which will be allocated by the Development Finance Corporation. According to him, the agreements relate to the BWRX-300 reactors designed by Hitachi Nuclear Energy Corporation. “Poland needs new energy solutions to protect itself from Russian influence, to fulfill climate commitments and to promote economic development,” the ambassador said. He added, “Today we have taken…

Turkish economists talked about the need to pump banknotes of large denominations into the Turkish economy, at a time when the authorities are struggling to cope with inflation. Al-Jumhuriya newspaper wrote on Monday that Turkish economists had announced the need for banknotes in denominations of 500 and 000 lira (equivalent to 26 and 51 dollars) to put them into circulation because the current largest 200-lira banknote has lost much of its value since 2009, equivalent to about 10.5 dollar. Economists estimate that the 200 Turkish lira banknote, which is the largest banknote in Turkey today, has lost about 647% of…

Egypt Times revealed that the Kuwait Investment Fund had acquired The United Bank, one of the most famous banks in Egypt. The deal was concluded in favor of the Kuwait Investment Fund with approximately 660 million dollars, while the contracts will be officially signed after the end of the Eid al-Fitr holiday. The Egyptian government, according to informed sources told “Egypt Times”, had earlier reduced the offers submitted to buy the bank to only two offers, the first for the Qatari Sovereign Fund, and the other for the Kuwaiti Investment Fund, and the contracts were prepared for signing after the…