Author: Steven Sahiounie

China has hit back at US accusations over the balloon sighted flying over the United States, saying that the balloon is a civilian meteorological “airship” used for scientific research purposes. In a statement late on Friday, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed that “the airship is from China and is civilian in nature, used for meteorological and other scientific research. Due to the influence of westerly winds and its limited control capability, the airship deviated from its intended course.” The statement came after US officials accused China of allowing a “spy” balloon to fly over the United States, resulting in the postponement…

The Palestinian Hamas resistance movement has condemned in the strongest terms the decision by Sudan’s foreign ministry to move forward towards normalizing relations with Israel during talks with visiting foreign minister Eli Cohen in Khartoum, calling upon officials in the North African country to reverse the measure. “Hamas believes that this move contradicts the general Sudanese stance, which is against the normalization of ties with the occupying Israeli regime and lends support to the just Palestinian cause,” the Gaza-based group said in a statement released on Friday. “The development comes at the same time as the far-right Israeli administration has intensified…

Deepening conflict, sudden changes to regulations and a lack of transparency have made doing business in the country increasingly challenging. Bangkok/Yangon – For Aung Thet, a successful entrepreneur in Yangon, running a business under Myanmar’s military regime feels like “riding a rollercoaster”. The Southeast Asian country’s economy has been brought to its knees by the conflict triggered by the military’s power grab two years ago. Foreign investors have headed for the exits and the generals have forced companies like Aung Thet’s to convert their foreign exchange accounts into Myanmar kyat. Criticism of the military administration is not tolerated. “It’s a very hostile…

Bitcoin rose above $23.7K in the immediate aftermath of the Federal Reserve’s moderate increase, but at least one trend points to a possible crypto price decline. Bitcoin climbed in the two hours after the U.S. central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) did as has been widely expected and raised interest rates 25 basis points. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested in comments accompanying the announcement the bankers had been encouraged by price decreases but remained committed to achieving their goal of reducing annual inflation to 2%. The dovish tilt underscored the success of the Fed’s more aggressive rate increases…

It was a big year for Regina’s Canadian Western Agribition (CWA), as residents from across western Canada flocked to the Queen City for the event. According to the CWA, nearly $100 million was generated in economic activity in 2022 after last year’s Agribition. found the show generated $96.5 million in economic impact for Regina and Saskatchewan. This marks a 31-per cent jump from the last study in 2017, when $73.6 million was brought in. “Our show is a major economic driver for the province and its residents, directly or indirectly, supporting one out of every 190 jobs in the Regina area,” Kindopp said.…

U.S. equities were lower to begin what is likely to be an important five days for the markets. Major tech firms, including Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta Platforms (META), will be among those releasing quarterly earnings this week. The Fed holds a two-day meeting beginning tomorrow, and it’s expected to announce an interest rate decision on Wednesday. On Friday, the Labor Department will release its much-anticipated monthly jobs report. Tech stocks were a major drag on the session, with the Dow snapping a six-day winning streak. Shares of all the FAAMG companies were lower. Last week’s big runup in Tesla (TSLA) shares hit…

Private hiring slowed to its weakest level in two years, according to the ADP National Employment Report, with just 106,000 jobs added in January. In addition, the manufacturing sector continued to contract, with the ISM Manufacturing Survey for January dipping to 47.4. An index reading above 50 indicates an expansion of the manufacturing segment of the economy compared to the previous month. A reading of 50 means no change. A reading below 50 suggests a contraction. Bitcoin (BTC) barely noticed the news, continuing to trade flat over the last 24 hours at just above $23,000. After a brutal 2022, the crypto…

The shakeup would give the president three well-known players from across the Obama-Biden presidential years at a key moment for the economy. President Joe Biden is poised to shake up his leadership team with two veteran economic minds likely to assume new roles just as he faces his best chance yet to avoid a recession that could derail his reelection effort. Biden aides expect a rapid succession of appointments, including Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard as the next National Economic Council director and long-time Biden confidant Jared Bernstein as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Biden has already…

Facebook’s parent firm recorded a 55% drop in profits during the final quarter of 2022 – the result of a $4.2bn restructuring charge that included the cost of thousands of job cuts. Meta Platforms, which also includes WhatsApp and Instagram in its stable, said its net income profit measure slumped to $4.65bn between October and December. That was down from a figure above $10bn during the same period in 2021. However, its quarterly revenue, ad revenue and Facebook’s daily active user measures all beat market expectations. Users of its platforms, taken together, were up 4%, with Facebook’s alone hitting two billion.…

Britain’s second-biggest steel producer has been drawing up secret plans to axe hundreds of jobs even as it continues talks with ministers about £300m of taxpayer funding that would partly depend on decade-long employment guarantees. Sky News has learnt that British Steel has been discussing launching a consultation on around 800 redundancies, principally focused on the Scunthorpe plant in north Lincolnshire where the company is based. One industry insider said there was a possibility that trade union officials could be briefed on the proposals as early as Wednesday, although there remained a possibility that their disclosure could be delayed pending…