Author: Steven Sahiounie

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy likely rolled out of 2022 with momentum, registering decent growth in the face of painful inflation, high interest rates and rising concern that a recession may be months away. Economists have estimated that the gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — grew at a 2.3% annual pace from October through December, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. The Commerce Department will issue its first of three estimates of fourth-quarter GDP growth at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time Thursday. Despite a likely second straight quarter of expansion,…

Before the pandemic, Chinese citizens ranked first among foreign tourists to Russia Russia and China are discussing restoring the number of passenger flights between the two countries to support the growth of tourist traffic, a representative of the Russian embassy in China told TASS on Thursday. “Ease of travel is an important condition for the growth of tourist flow. At the moment, we are coordinating the restoration of passenger flights by carriers and specialized state agencies of the two countries,” the diplomatic mission said. Interested Russian and Chinese airlines have scaled up activities considerably in recent weeks, the embassy added.…

It is noted that in October the growth slowed down MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. The volume of cash in circulation in Russia amounted to 16.4 trillion rubles ($237 bln) as of January 1, 2023, which is 2.3 trillion rubles ($33 bln) higher than in the previous year, according to information provided by the Central Bank on Thursday. “Extraordinary demand for cash was registered during 2022 twice, first in February-March, though it did not last long, while the second wave was observed in September. However, in October the growth slowed down. Moreover, the traditional demand for cash before New Year holidays…

Earlier, Matthias Warnig said that he had spoken with Putin in Moscow after the start of the special military operation MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with executive director of Nord Stream 2 AG, Matthias Warnig, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. When asked whether Putin and Warnig had conversations after the start of the special military operation and if new contacts are expected in the future, Peskov said: “I only can say that Putin and Warnig really know each other and they really spoke to each other.” Earlier, Warnig said that he had spoken…

Russian energy giant Inter RAO boosted electricity supplies to China and Mongolia to record volumes last year, the company’s CEO Boris Kovalchuk said on Wednesday. Power exports from Russia to the EU were stopped last year. At that time, Inter RAO reported that consumers could not pay the company for the supplied electricity due to Western sanctions imposed on Russia. “We completely stopped commercial supplies [of electricity] to the countries of the European Union starting June 2022. At the same time, we have substantially increased exports to China and Mongolia,” Kovalchuk said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.…

Britain’s poorest households are among the worst hit by the cost-of-living crisis as living standards are struggling to keep up with inflation, according to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Household Finances Survey on Wednesday. The median disposable income for the poorest fifth of the population dropped 3.8% in the financial year through March 2022, while wages and benefit payments also failed to keep up with skyrocketing inflation. The data exposes how the squeeze is increasing inequality in the UK as an unbridgeable gap opens up between the highest- and lowest-income households. It also shows the struggle…

It is noted that India as the B20 president provides for meaningful and non-biased activitiesNEW DELHI, January 24. /TASS/. The B20 summit under the Indian presidency in the Group of Twenty (G20) will be held in August, managing director for international cooperation of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the business Sherpa in the B20 Sergey Mikhnevich told TASS this Tuesday.”Companies and captains of international industry will take part in the B20 summit. Participants from Russia will be identified closer to the summit that will take place in August,” Mikhnevich said.The delegation of the Russian business association participated…

The oil meal export duty was calculated on the basis of the indicative price of $247.6 per metric ton. The sunflower oil export duty in Russia will remain zero in February, just as in October – January 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Wednesday.Sunflower oil meal export duty will grow from 1,826.9 rubles ($26.47) per metric ton in January 2022 to 2,200.7 rubles ($31.9) per metric ton in this February, the Ministry informed.The oil meal export duty was calculated on the basis of the indicative price of $247.6 per metric ton, compared to $246.2 per metric ton this January.…

On March 10, 2022, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a law on the principles for the forced seizure of subjects of property rights of the Russian Federation and its residents on the territory of Ukraine. A court in Kiev, at the request of the district prosecutor’s office, seized the bank accounts of the Ukrainian subsidiary of a Russian tea company and ordered that the 52 million hryvnias ($1.4 million) on these accounts be transferred to fund the Ukrainian armed forces.The press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reported this on Wednesday.”The investigation established that enterprises engaged…

One of the key tasks for the near term is to master production of required domestic modern equipmentMOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/. Russia will continue developing indigenous modern equipment for microelectronics production and prospects of this area were discussed at the meeting headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the Cabinet said on its website on Tuesday.Provision of technological sovereignty and development of national electronic industry become particularly current amid mounting sanctions pressure, the Government said. “The government has initiated development of new federal projects on the instruction of the head of state, aimed at developing the electronics industry, and ensured extra…