Author: Steven Sahiounie

India’s imports from sanctions-hit Russia have leapt by 400% so far this fiscal year, the Nikkei Asia news website reported on Friday, citing the latest data from the Indian Commerce Ministry. The growth is attributed to large-scale purchases of discounted crude oil from Russia amid Western sanctions, which recently targeted the country’s exports of seaborne oil and petroleum products, including fuel and gasoline. Russia was reportedly ranked India’s fourth biggest “merchandise import source nation” in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year through March, after China, the United Arab Emirates and the US. The total value of Indian imports from…

Electricite de France (EDF) has reported a record single-year loss of €17.9 billion (around $19 billion) for 2022, pushing the power giant’s overall debts to €64.5 billion. The losses, which contrast with a profit of €5 billion in 2021, are the third largest in French corporate history and the worst for more than two decades. The fall comes despite a 70% surge in EDF’s revenues, which totaled €144 billion due to increases in global energy prices. The largely state-owned electricity producer endured a tough 2022 due to an unprecedented number of outages at its reactors, as well as the cap…

Portugal scraps right of non-Europeans to claim residency in return for investment Portugal’s authorities have announced a bulky package of economic measures that includes the termination of one of the most sought-after ‘golden visa’ schemes in Europe, which provides non-EU nationals with Portuguese residence in exchange for buying real estate or for other investments. Lisbon’s decision to halt issuing new golden visas in return for such investments, which had given those who could pay residency status and access to the EU’s borderless travel zone, was announced on Thursday by the country’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa. The step is aimed at “fighting…

Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” says that the industry may start to use stablecoins pegged to the euro, yen, or Singapore dollar, following recent actions against the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD. The crypto industry will “probably” start using euro, yen, or Singapore dollar-based stablecoins in the future, reducing its reliance on United States dollar-based stablecoins, according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ.” CZ gave the statement in a Feb. 14 Twitter Spaces event in answer to a question about the crypto industry using gold as a standard of value instead of the U.S. dollar. CZ agreed that it…

Crypto Market News Today Live Updates and Latest News: (15 February 2023): So, after a month of going through frequent highs and lows, cryptocurrency is gearing up. The Fed hikes the interest rate by one percentage point in three quarters, the largest hike since 1994. Moreover, the cryptocurrency broker in the US started to sort investor concerns by quoting strong balance sheets. As a result, Bitcoin has crossed the $21k mark and is currently trending at $22,105, with a surge of 1.54% in the last 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies that move in tandem with BTC, like Ethereum (ETH) and Binance native token BNB,…

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, halted its downward rally and climbed beyond the $22,000 mark. During New York trade, BTC rose by up to 3.2% to $22,323, after dipping earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrency, has also risen back above the $1,500 mark. According to Coinmarketcap statistics, the overall market value of all cryptocurrencies is $1.03 trillion, up 2.12% on the day. The increase in cryptocurrency prices followed the release of US Consumer Price Index (CPI) statistics for January, which showed a lower-than-expected decline in inflation. Additionally, the easing of concerns over cryptocurrency regulations has…

Whether you live in a city, a rural area or by the ocean, it’s likely you have noticed a decline in biodiversity. Maybe fewer birds visit your urban feeders, larger mammals are less common in the fields and forests around you, or your catches on those fishing trips are getting smaller. What we’re all witnessing is a potentially catastrophic loss of biodiversity on which entire ecosystems depend.Global efforts to protect nature In an ongoing effort to slow the destruction of nature, delegates at the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Canada, focused on reversing the rapid decline of animals,…

Dubai: Countries need collective investments across several initiatives to mitigate the risks and chaos that befell them every six months, and constant dialogue is key for this, said Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy. Speaking on the sidelines of the second day of the World Government Summit in Dubai, the minister emphasised that the UAE, as a MENA region hub, seeks open dialogue with all partners. Al Marri highlighted how the UAE was quick to navigate the headwinds and keep the economy on track in the aftermath of the pandemic and the high oil prices, rising interest…

THOUGHTS OF THE RESERVE BANK GOVERNOR Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe gave evidence to a Senate inquiry in Canberra on Wednesday. Showing empathy: “I get a lot of people writing to me at the moment telling me about their personal circumstances and it’s really, really tough, I understand that. I read those letters and hear those stories with a very heavy heart.” On why interest rates are rising: “Raising interest rates is always unpopular and it affects the whole community … but we keep doing our job and our job is to make sure inflation comes down and hopefully preserve…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s minister of economy and planning participated in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ministerial meeting being held in Paris from Feb. 14-15. On the sidelines of the meeting, Faisal Al-Ibrahim met Helene Budliger Artieda, Swiss secretary of state for economic affairs. They discussed ways to enhance economic relations as well as the latest developments of mutual interest. He also met Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian minister of foreign affairs and trade, with whom he discussed bilateral relations. The ministerial meeting’s theme is “Promoting and enabling responsible business conduct in the global economy.” The OECD aims to address various…