Author: Steven Sahiounie

Russia intends to shift the exports of its oil and petroleum products to ‘friendly’ countries this year, increasing their share in total supplies shipped abroad to 75-80%, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak has revealed. “As for supplies to states that maintain illegitimate price restrictions, our position here is widely known and remains unchanged: such countries will not receive Russian oil,” Novak wrote in an article for the magazine Energy Policy on Monday. He noted that oil production in Russia amounted to 535.2 million tons in 2022, which is 2% more than in the previous year. Oil exports increased by 7.6%,…

Famed writer and economist Robert Kiyosaki has warned investors that the stock markets are about to crash and the US economy is heading into a “depression.” According to the ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ co-author, this will be fueled by the fact that the US Federal Reserve will print billions in “fake money.” “Giant crash is coming. Depression possible,” Kiyosaki tweeted late Sunday. He also wrote that by 2025, Bitcoin will hit $500,000, followed by $5,000 and $500 price marks for gold and silver respectively. He explained that this will be “because faith in the US dollar, fake money, will be destroyed,” adding that Bitcoin is…

Wheat prices have soared to two-month highs this week amid fears that Russia’s military operation may jeopardize this year’s planting and harvesting season in Ukraine, several media outlets have reported, citing traders. March futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed at over $8.0075 a bushel on Monday, the highest since November 23. Quotes were slightly down on Tuesday but are still up for the year. Wheat prices initially jumped on Friday, with analysts attributing the surge to Russia’s latest missile strikes in Ukraine. Traders warn that infrastructure damage from the missiles or a potential worsening of the conflict would jeopardize…

Wheat prices have soared to two-month highs this week amid fears that Russia’s military operation may jeopardize this year’s planting and harvesting season in Ukraine, several media outlets have reported, citing traders. March futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed at over $8.0075 a bushel on Monday, the highest since November 23. Quotes were slightly down on Tuesday but are still up for the year. Wheat prices initially jumped on Friday, with analysts attributing the surge to Russia’s latest missile strikes in Ukraine. Traders warn that infrastructure damage from the missiles or a potential worsening of the conflict would jeopardize…

The high rate of inflation in the US is likely to be “far stickier” and longer-lasting than many have predicted, the chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management, Bill Smead, told CNBC on Tuesday. The comments come ahead of a much-anticipated US inflation report by the Labor Department due later in the day. “The enthusiasm… right now is the hope that we’ll get a friendly Fed out of a soft landing, and we do not believe that is going to be the case,” Smead stated. “We think the inflation is going to be far stickier and longer-lasting – in fact, a decade,…

Zillow Group — Shares advanced 4.57% after Evercore ISI upgraded the stock to outperform from in line, saying investors should buy shares ahead of what could be a “rapid recovery” in the housing market. The firm also boosted its price target to $61 from $34, suggesting about 44% upside from Friday’s close. Microsoft — The technology corporation’s shares rose 3.12% on Monday, pushing its market cap over $2 trillion once again, after Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating for the stock. Microsoft announced its new artificial intelligence-powered Bing search browser last week. Twilio — The cloud communication software marker gained 2.08% after announcing plans to cut…

Avis — The car rental company gained 3.5% after beating both top- and bottom-line estimates from analysts polled by Refinitiv. Avis posted adjusted earnings per share of $10.46 on revenue of $2.77 billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of $6.79 in per-share earnings on revenues of $2.69 billion. The company cited strong demand and said that has continued in the current quarter. Amkor Technology — Shares of the semiconductor stock slid 5% after missing per-share earnings estimates while beating expectations for revenue, according to FactSet. The company also gave first-quarter guidance that was below analysts’ expectations. Cadence Design — The software company gained 4%…

After China’s reopening and a deluge of positive data surprises in recent weeks, economists are upgrading their previously gloomy outlooks for the global economy. Data releases last week showed signs of inflation slowing and less severe downturns in activity, prompting Barclays on Friday to raise its global growth forecast to 2.2% in 2023, up 0.5 percentage points from its last estimate in mid-November. “This is largely driven by the 1.0pp increase in our China growth prediction to 4.8% from last week, but also reflects a 0.7pp increase for the euro area (to -0.1%, largely on a much better Germany) forecasts, and, to lesser extent,…

U.S. inflation is likely to be “far stickier” and could last a decade, according to Bill Smead, chief investment officer at Smead Capital Management. Wall Street is gearing up for key inflation data later Tuesday, when the Labor Department releases its January consumer price index. It is a widely followed inflation gauge that measures the cost for dozens of goods and services spanning the economy. “The enthusiasm … right now is the hope that we’ll get a friendly Fed out of a soft landing, and we do not believe that is going to be the case,” Smead told CNBC’s “Streets Sign Asia.” “We…

The first time Gabriel Trompiz heard about the FTX student ambassador program was through a LinkedIn message. He had been identified as someone who could represent and promote the crypto exchange at his college. Trompiz promptly applied through the link he was sent and became an FTX campus ambassador shortly afterward. No contracts were signed, and Trompiz says he wasn’t paid. But he was given a task: promoting the company to fellow students to help build its userbase in Europe. FTX was already running a campus ambassador program in Africa, with the same goal of advertising the exchange to fellow students.…