Author: Steven Sahiounie

Italy’s energy giant said the deal will have a “significant impact on the industry and the associated supply chain, allowing a significant contribution to the Libyan economy.” Italian energy giant Eni has signed an $8 billion gas deal with Libya’s state-run National Oil Corporation as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Tripoli. Eni said on Saturday it was the first major project in Libya since early 2000 and involved the development of two offshore gas fields. “The combined gas production from the two structures will start in 2026 and reach a plateau of 750 million of standard gas cubic feet per…

On the second day of the federal cabinet retreat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers heard from a trio of economists who came bearing grim news about Canada’s economic outlook. The economy is expected to weaken considerably, unemployment will tick up and inflationary pressures may not ease as quickly as hoped, the economists — Kevin Milligan of the University of British Columbia, Carolyn Wilkins of Princeton University and Anil Arora of Statistics Canada — told a morning session of cabinet. “There are some serious risks for the next year,” Milligan told reporters after meeting with Trudeau and other ministers…

The move is part of the central bank’s moves to reduce cash flow within the borders of Africa’s biggest economy. Nigeria’s central bank has launched a domestic card scheme to rival foreign cards like Mastercard and Visa, hoping to enhance its drive to make Africa’s biggest economy a cashless society and save the country foreign transaction fees. The announcement on Thursday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, follows its launch of Africa’s first digital currency, the e-naira, in October 2021. Emefiele told a virtual launch of the AfriGo card scheme that although penetration of card payments in…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The second consecutive quarter of economic growth that the government reported Thursday underscored that the nation isn’t in a recession despite high inflation and the Federal Reserve’s fastest pace of interest rate hikes in four decades. Yet the U.S. economy is hardly in the clear. The solid growth in the October-December quarter will do little to alter the widespread view of economists that a recession is very likely sometime this year. For now, the economy expanded at a 2.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter, though some of the underlying figures weren’t as healthy. Consumer spending, for…

The bitcoin price has remained flat in the past 24 hours, sticking to its $16,796 from yesterday while the wider market teeters downwards slightly. Its current price marks a 1% increase in a week, although the world’s first cryptocurrency is down by 1.5% in a month and by 75% compared to its all-time high of $69,044, set back in November 2021. Despite the ongoing stagnation, more than a few figures within the cryptocurrency industry have been predicitng that bitcoin will enjoy significant gains this year, with some going even so far as to set a target of $250,000. However, other…

The U.K. is enforcing a tax exemption for foreign investors purchasing crypto through local investment managers or brokers starting Sunday. The tax break, announced in December, is a part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s plans to turn the U.K. into a crypto hub. “This exemption is an important factor in attracting global investors, meaning foreign investors won’t be brought into U.K. tax simply by appointing U.K.-based investment managers,” the government’s tax arm, the HM Revenue and Customs, said in an email to CoinDesk. “To build upon the U.K.’s position as an investment management hub, this exemption has been extended to include crypto assets, so…

Customers of US bank Silvergate, which provides cryptocurrency services, have withdrawn over $8bn (£6.7bn) of their crypto-linked deposits. Around two-thirds of the bank’s customers pulled their deposits in the final three months of 2022. The bank has sold $5.2bn in assets to cover the cost and remain liquid. It came as three US regulators warned banks that issuing or holding crypto was “highly likely to be inconsistent with safe and sound banking practices”. Silvergate is a bank listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and is therefore regulated within the financial sector. It is one of a small handful of businesses within…

Belgium will never support a ban on Russian diamond imports to the European Union, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday, adding that measures of this kind would only be effective if they were introduced globally. The EU is working on its tenth round of sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. Poland and the Baltic nations are pushing to ban Russian diamonds from the bloc’s market, as well as other measures like cutting off more banks from the SWIFT payments system and restrictions on nuclear energy cooperation. “We do not support the ban on supply of…

The country’s program to slash interest rates sent prices to a 24-year high last year The UN expects inflation in Türkiye to fall to an average of 42.4% by the end of the year, much higher than the country’s own official projections, The World Economic Situation and Prospects report, published on Wednesday, says. The results reported in the UN study cast doubt about the country’s aim to tackle inflation by slashing interest rates. Türkiye began easing rates in 2021 in an effort to support economic growth, boost exports and investment, and fight unemployment. The policy, however, led to a crisis with the…

The EU and G7 are still discussing the exact level in hope of avoiding major global market disruptions The Group of Seven has accepted the EU’s proposal to set a price ceiling for Russian diesel exports between $100 and $110 a barrel, Bloomberg reported on Friday citing a G-7 official. The European Commission had reportedly proposed a cap level of $100 per barrel, while G7 nations want the limit to be set slightly higher, citing concerns that a lower ceiling could send prices for the fuel soaring and provoke disruptions in the EU. Negotiations on the issue are ongoing with…