Author: Steven Sahiounie

Moscow’s Ambassador to the kingdom says Riyadh is looking to diversify its foreign policy Saudi Arabia is interested in joining the BRICS group of the world’s five major developing economies, as well the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, according to Russia’s Ambassador to the kingdom, Sergey Kozlov. The five BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – currently account for more than 40% of the world’s population and nearly a quarter of global GDP. Meanwhile, the China and Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional security bloc, includes major powers like India in its ranks. “As part of the diversification…

The tenth package will reportedly include new financial restrictions and additional trade bans, among other penalties The EU is set to propose a new package of sanctions on Russia, Politico reported on Monday, citing unnamed European officials and diplomats. The sources told the outlet that the latest set of measures would include proposals for new financial sanctions against four Russian banks, including the country’s largest private lender, Alfa Bank. Russian nationals are also expected to be banned from serving on the boards of critical infrastructure companies in the EU, such as electricity grids or gas providers. Additional trade bans could…

Tankers earmarked for Russian trade have left fewer vessels to serve other suppliers, the outlet reports The cost of transferring gasoline on ocean-going vessels skyrocketed days after EU sanctions targeting Russian petroleum sales went into effect, Bloomberg reports. Medium and small tankers carrying refined fuels on the Atlantic Ocean are raking in profits, with daily earnings reaching $55,857 – a surge of 405%, the outlet wrote, citing data from the Baltic Exchange in London. Profits soared by 58% on Thursday alone, the largest one-day gain since late 2021. The EU and G7 nations introduced a price cap on Russian petroleum…

Exports via the mega Power of Siberia pipeline have been growing, says Deputy PM Aleksandr Novak Exports of natural gas from Russia to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline surged to a record 15.4 billion cubic meters last year, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak has stated. Novak wrote in an article for the Energy Policy magazine on Monday that “gas supplies to China were actively growing during the year … Deliveries through the Power of Siberia increased by 48% and reached a historical maximum.” He noted that overall Russian gas exports decreased by more than 25% in 2022 due to…

The cost to protect households and businesses from soaring prices keeps growing, analysts at Bruegel say. European nations have splashed out nearly €800 billion ($855 billion) on support measures as the region continues to reel from climbing energy costs, researchers at Brussels-based think tank Bruegel said on Monday. The analysts have urged governments to be more targeted in their spending aimed at subsidizing bills for households and businesses, in the face of wild swings in prices for gas and electricity over the past year. EU member states have so far allocated €681 billion to energy spending since September 2021, according…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The current government of Israel is the most right-wing and extremist in the last 70 years. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, elected for a sixth term, had previous scoffed at the Jewish fanatical parties, but now finds himself allied with them to hold on to power, and stay out of jail for corruption. The West Bank of Palestine is under military occupation of Israel, and there is no international ‘road map for peace’ being pursued. The Occupied Territories of Palestine are demanding their freedom, democracy, and human rights. Groups of resistance fighters are growing in…

Seoul: China’s reopening from Covid restrictions and its economic recovery are expected to help boost South Korea’s economic growth and exports, which are highly related to the neighbouring country, a report showed Sunday. According to the report published by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), global institutions have predicted that the Chinese economy will expand 5.1 per cent in 2023 from a year earlier, up from a 3 per cent growth in the previous year, Yonhap News Agency reported. Thanks to the reopening from its years long zero-Covid policy and Beijing’s stimulus packages, the world’s second-largest economy will likely post…

The recent set of allegations have raised questions about the tycoon’s meteoric rise and the role of regulators. Mumbai, India – Amid the usual traffic snarls on one of central Mumbai’s busiest overpasses, drivers could hardly help but notice a simple, yet large, hand-painted slogan proclaiming that the rapidly rising wealth of businessmen Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani was a miracle of Narendra Modi’s government. In the city’s stock market, however, Adani’s wealth, which has increased by more than $100bn in less than a decade, was eroding faster than the paint on the slogan could dry. Adani’s self-named conglomerate grew by…

Canada’s economy added a stunning 150,000 jobs last month. It’s the second straight month that jobs numbers blew well past expectations. And it’s yet one more data point that challenges the narrative that Canada needs to shed jobs to bring inflation under control. “We’re seeing a key test of our theories of how labour market tightness translates to wages and from wages to prices,” said Brendon Bernard, chief economist at the job search site Indeed. Economic theory tells us that unemployment and inflation are inextricably linked. As unemployment falls and more people work, inflation increases. And as unemployment increases, inflation drops. But…

Building and business insiders warn the Reserve Bank’s recent hawkish approach risks long-term harm for households and commerce. If the Reserve Bank’s record run of interest rate rises is sapping the heat out of the economy, Shannon Battisson isn’t detecting it. Battisson is national president of the Australian Institute of Architects, representing 14,000 members across the nation, and the director of architecture firm The Mill. It’s an industry that is usually highly sensitive to the rising cost of debt, but Battisson’s Canberra-based practice retains “a huge waitlist” for residential work. Staff were worried clients would abandon potential projects as interest…