Author: Steven Sahiounie

The country will not confiscate blocked funds despite pressure from Western allies, an official said Swiss banks have no legal right to use Russian money frozen in the country under sanctions for their own purposes, a spokesperson for the country’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Fabian Maienfisch, told the RIA Novosti news agency this week. Any action that allows the management or use of frozen assets is prohibited except for routine administrative actions performed by financial institutions such as accounting for interest rates or banking charges on the account, he noted. “The management of actual portfolio of frozen assets…

Berlin’s spending on tackling skyrocketing energy costs has already topped $270 billion Germany’s government will have to allocate more than $1 trillion by 2030 to deal with the risks and challenges that have arisen due to the energy crisis, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing its primary research service. The enormous costs are expected to include investments in modernization of the country’s power grids and a planned phase-out of its nuclear and coal plants. Berlin will reportedly face growing demand from electric vehicles and heating systems. Moreover, the German authorities are obliged to meet climate commitments. The increase in power demand…

US stocks have soared to unsustainable highs and could crash 26% within months, Morgan Stanley’s top strategist has warned. In an analyst note the bank’s chief US equity strategist, Mike Wilson, said that the current level of stock valuations could be compared to the “death zone,” a term in mountaineering describing an altitude so high that climbers do not have enough oxygen to breathe. “Many fatalities in high-altitude mountaineering have been caused by the death zone, either directly through loss of vital functions, or indirectly by wrong decisions made under stress or physical weakening that lead to accidents,” Wilson wrote. “This…

A British farming union says Brexit, geopolitical tensions, the energy crisis and climate change are weighing on local growers The UK government needs to “take command” of local food production, the deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said on Saturday, warning that an ongoing shortage of fruit and vegetables across the country could be just the “tip of the iceberg.” According to Tom Bradshaw, the deficit of some fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes and cucumbers, has been caused by volatility arising from geopolitical events, and climate change, which is putting intense pressure on supply chains. “What we saw last summer with…

Something unexpected is going on in the U.S. economy. Inflation remains high, yet many Americans went on a spending spree last month, eating out at restaurants and shopping for cars. In ordinary times, that additional spending would be welcome news to an economy that’s heavily dependent on consumer dollars. But there’s a catch: All that spending threatens to put more upward pressure on inflation at a time when the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates aggressively to keep prices in check. That makes it critical to gauge how long that consumer spending can last. A drop in consumer spending would…

New research suggests that Beijing’s property market is as bubbly as Tokyo’s two decades ago. The next few months put Japan in line for a series of anniversaries it would probably prefer to forget. But these are dates which the leadership in China may be wise to mark: the detonation of timebombs with counters set ticking by a property bubble. For these are, some would argue, distinctly echoey times. New research suggests that, if it is not careful, China may be on track for a new wave of Japanification. Back in 2003, Japan could no longer fool itself that all…

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) — After achieving a major and decisive victory in its COVID-19 prevention and control efforts since late 2022, China has put its economy back on the fast track, with the vigor of its development impacting the whole world. At a meeting last week, the Chinese leadership noted that China’s COVID-19 response has accomplished a smooth transition in a relatively short time, citing continuous efforts made in optimizing relative prevention and control measures since November 2022. With enhanced social mobility and international exchanges, the world’s second largest economy is on course for a robust economic comeback. The…

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday that stubbornly-high inflation in the country has likely peaked, but conceded it remains a big economic challenge. Inflation is running at a 32-year high of 7.8% is only expected to slow to the top of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s target range of 2-3% by mid-2025. Speaking from India, where he has been attending the G20 financial leaders’ meet in Bengalaru, Chalmers said the global economy was on an “incredibly narrow path” with “the inflation challenge on one side, and a big global downturn on the other”.…

Over the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has experienced a lot of volatility, with some currencies losing value while others have rebounded. One such example is the Binance USD (BUSD) and Avalanche (AVAX) currencies, which have seen dips and losses respectively, while Binance Coin (BNB) has rebounded. On its part, Big Eyes Coin ($BIG) has continued to break records at presale, with over $30 million dollars in the bag already. Avalanche: An Avalanche of Ways Similar To BUSD The worth of Binance USD, a stablecoin backed by the US dollar, has decreased. This is partially a result of the recent increase…

In the world of cryptocurrencies, Terra Luna Classic (LUN) has been making waves recently, as its price has been on the rise following a surge in trading volume. With the volume of trading reaching $100 million, many investors are speculating that the price of LUN could reach $1 in the near future. This prediction has created a lot of excitement and buzz in the cryptocurrency community, as people wonder whether Terra Luna Classic will continue to rise in value, or if this is just a temporary uptick. In this article, we will explore the factors driving this recent surge in…