Author: Steven Sahiounie

The World Economic Forum 2023 has announced the joining of Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, to the WEF Leadership Council, which includes 13 members from various countries.The Council will be an important institutional community to act as a sounding board for the Forum’s long-term strategy and help it to play a particular role as an informal, yet efficient global bridge-builder and annual platform that encourage business growth and establish international cooperation and dialogue.Al Gergawi stressed that the UAE’s participation in the World Economic Forum over more than 20 years reflects the pioneering role of the country,…

The number of insolvencies has reportedly risen for the first time in three yearsJapan recorded its first increase in the number of company bankruptcies in three years in 2022, according to a new survey by Teikoku Databank.The report showed that a total of 6,376 companies declared bankruptcy in the country last year, which is 6% higher than in 2021. Those companies’ total debt soared almost 104% to 2.37 trillion yen (over $18 billion), but almost half of that came from auto parts supplier Marelli Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June.The only industry that did not record an increase…

The company now has fewer than 550 full-time engineers, the news outlet reported, citing internal documentsOver 6,000 Twitter employees – around 80% of the company’s workforce – have either quit or been laid off since billionaire Elon Musk bought the company, CNBC reported on Friday, citing data from the platform’s internal records.According to the documents, Twitter’s full-time headcount is down to approximately 1,300 active employees, from a staff of roughly 7,500 prior to the buyout. Fewer than 550 of those still working are full-time engineers. The trust and safety department, which is responsible for policy recommendations, design, and product changes,…

Japan’s trade deficit hits record high – dataA perfect storm created by growing commodity prices and a weakening national currency sent Japanese import costs soaring in 2022, with the trade deficit hitting a record high of 19.97 trillion yen ($155 billion), Nikkei reported, citing officials statistics.According to preliminary data tracked by the country’s ministry of finance, growth in Japan’s exports amounted to 98.18 trillion yen ($764 billion) last year, marking a surge of 18%. At the same time, imports reportedly soared by more than 39% and totaled 118.15 trillion yen ($920 billion).The estimated annual deficit, recorded for a second consecutive…

efined products trading at a premium or sold at a discount to crude, will be capped differentlyThe US-led price cap coalition will place two separate price limits on Russian oil products depending on their category, the US Treasury Department said in a statement on Friday.According to the statement, following a meeting between Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and deputy ministers representing other G7 countries, EU states, and Australia, the sides also decided to review the price ceiling for Russian crude oil, which came into force last month, in March.“The Deputies agreed to an approach for refined products that will institute…

In the last quarter, the crypto market showed increased stability, with many coins experiencing a price surge. Bitcoin, in particular, has shown incredible gains since the start of 2023, having gained over 38% to trade above $22,500 for the first time in two months.Alongside Bitcoin, many altcoins have been very successful in the market, and they have pulled off a stunning performances. Aptos (APT), one of the earliest blockchain projects, is up 54.73% from the previous day based on data from CoinMarketCap.APT has been one of the best performers in 2023 since its creation. For example, in January, it increased…

Finland has blocked millions worth of real estate, stocks, and other property that belong to Russian citizensFinland has frozen roughly €187 ($203) million worth of Russian assets under Ukraine-related sanctions, Pia Sarivaara, a spokeswoman for the country’s Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday.According to Sarivaara, these assets include “various valuable property” belonging to Russian citizens; in particular, real estate, stocks, cars, yachts and planes.“The Department for Debt Recovery deals with frozen assets in the country. At this time, the department has frozen assets in the amount of €187 million euros.”Finnish television channel MTV Uutiset recently reported that the blocking of Russian…

British house prices, which have been on a downward trend recently, will fall by up to 10% this year, according to Lloyds Bank CEO Charlie Nunn, citing higher mortgage rates and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.He told CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the UK is facing a mild recession this year, with a GDP fall of about 0.1%. According to Nunn, unemployment will stay strong and “that’s more because of the constraints on the supply side, interest rates about 4% and a recovery coming into 2023.”“The other challenge a lot of…

The world’s largest oilfield firm SLB (formerly Schlumberger) has managed to boost its operations in Russia by cherry-picking service and equipment contracts from Western rivals that opted to leave the country due to the threat of Ukraine-related sanctions, Reuters reported, citing the company’s papers and people familiar with the issue.In March, the oil field giant announced immediate plans to suspend new investment and technology deployment to its Russia operations due to “immense concern” over the “escalating conflict in Ukraine.”Despite sharp criticism over SLB’s continued embrace of Russia, the company has expanded activity in the sanction-hit country and significantly increased its…

The number of new vehicles registered in the region in 2022 plunged to the lowest in 30 years, the ACEA saysThe European Union passenger car market contracted by 4.6% last year to just 9.3 million units, which is the region’s lowest level since 1993, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported this week.According to the report, the slump was mainly due to the impact of component shortages in the first half of the year. The market, however, improved from August to December, with new car registrations expanding by 12.8% in the last month of the year.Overall, in 2022 only Germany…