Author: Steven Sahiounie

Swedish audio streaming company Spotify has announced plans for a round of layoffs that is expected to impact around 6% of its global workforce of some 10,000 employees. The company has thus become the latest in a slew of tech firms announcing job cuts aimed at cutting costs. The move, which was announced earlier this week, will impact around 600 employees and is expected to improve the company’s efficiency, according to a statement. Many tech companies added to their headcounts during the pandemic, but have since had to shed employees due to dropping advertising revenue and a darkening economic outlook. “Like…

Overseas shipments of domestically made cars have tripled over the past three years Shipments of automobiles from China to international markets topped 2.5 million units in 2022, making it the world’s third biggest exporter of cars, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing data from the China Passenger Car Association. China’s numbers came in behind Japan and Germany, but ahead of the US and South Korea, signaling the emergence of a strong challenger to the established automaking giants. Chinese brands are currently among the best-selling in the Middle East and Latin America. In Europe, electric models from Tesla and Chinese-owned former…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator Yesterday, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) killed nine Palestinians in a deadly daylight attack on Jenin in the occupied West Bank. A tenth Palestinian was shot and killed by the IDF in al-Ram while protesting the attack on Jenin. The Palestinian health ministry identified three of those killed as housewife Magda Obaid, 61, Saeb Izreiqi, 24, and Izzidin Salahat, 26, while another twenty were wounded. Heavy artillery and explosives were used by the IDF which resulted in substantial property damage to homes and civic buildings. Overnight, two rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel. The…

The updated blacklist also targets the businesses of Russian billionaire and nickel magnate Vladimir PotaninThe US has published an expanded sanctions list targeting Russian officials and businessmen.Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister Denis Manturov was added to the list on Thursday, along with the head of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and his family, and telecoms millionaire Sergey Adonyev.The list of companies subject to US penalties has also been updated to include a number of business structures associated with Russian billionaire, Vladimir Potanin, who is a major shareholder in global nickel producer, Norilsk Nickel. He was personally sanctioned in December.Washington last…

it supplies of semiconductors, robots and gas exploration equipment. Japan announced additional Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia on Friday, banning exports of technology products and freezing assets belonging to officials, businessmen and companies from the country.The new round of penalties targeted 36 individuals and 52 organizations in Russia. Tokyo will prohibit Russia-bound shipments of goods that can be used “to enhance military capability” to 49 organizations.The ban on exports by Japanese companies extends to a range of technology products such as semiconductor equipment and components, robots, power generators, explosives, and vaccines, as well as X-ray inspection gear and gas exploration equipment,…

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said new penalties will only accelerate inflation. Hungary will veto any EU sanctions that may affect collaboration with Russia’s nuclear energy sector, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday in an interview with state radio.Kiev has repeatedly called on the 27-nation bloc to include the Russian nuclear industry on its list of sanctions, with some member states supporting the idea.Hungarian authorities had previously said that cooperation with Russia on nuclear energy is essential for Budapest, which is planning to expand a Russian-built nuclear power plant.“We will not allow the [EU’s] plan to include nuclear…

Brussels reportedly wants to use the seized assets to rebuild Ukraine. The European Union has told member states that it has legal authority to temporarily leverage a hefty amount of Russian Central Bank assets to pay for the rebuilding of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.The mechanism could reportedly involve as much as €33.8 billion ($36.8 billion) of the funds frozen by the bloc as part of the Ukraine-related sanctions imposed on Moscow.According to the EU’s Council Legal Service, the plan is legally feasible if the assets aren’t expropriated and certain conditions are met. These…

China’s reopened borders and renewed focus on boosting the sagging economy have brightened the deals outlook, with bankers starting to field interest for mergers, acquisitions and fundraising involving the world’s second-largest economy.The prospect of a revival in deals comes as Chinese policymakers try to restore private-sector confidence and growth, which has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic and a sweeping regulatory crackdown.Although consumer, retail and travel-related firms are expected to bounce back after an almost three-year lockdown, advisers say sectors linked to strengthening China’s economic prospects will be at the centre of dealmaking this year.”We see strategic sectors, hardcore industrial…

The economic forecast for Beijing is moderate, but better than the “sharply deteriorated” outlook for the EU. China will outpace Western economies this year, having abandoned its zero-Covid rules and eased monetary and fiscal policy, a United Nations’ report has predicted.Growth in the world’s second-largest economy is projected to “moderately” improve in 2023 after a weaker-than-expected performance last year, hampered by severe lockdowns.Beijing’s GDP growth is projected to pick up from 3% last year to 4.8% in 2023, The World Economic Situation and Prospects report, published on Wednesday, predicts. The UN expects the reopening of the Chinese economy to be “bumpy”…

The messaging app will have to pay more than $236,000 for not suspending accounts of the former president’s supportersBrazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has fined messaging app Telegram for failing to comply with a previous court order, which required it to suspend accounts belonging to the former president’s supporters.The previous ruling was made in January as part of an inquiry into acts of vandalism in public buildings in the country’s capital. It obliged the messaging service to block five different accounts belonging to congressman-elect Nikolas Ferreira and others “to stop the spread of criminal manifestations.”According to the Supreme Court,…