Author: Steven Sahiounie

US e-commerce giant grabs top slot despite a $51-billion value loss, research has found. Amazon has regained its position as the world’s most valuable brand despite a 15% decrease in value this year, according to the annual Brand Finance Global 500 ranking, which features 48 tech companies.According to the valuation, though Amazon reclaimed the top spot its brand value dropped more than $50 billion this year, from $350.3 billion to $299.3 billion. Its rating went from AAA+ to AAA as consumers “evaluate it more harshly in the post-pandemic world.”The perception of the company’s customer service dropped as delivery times became…

Surging commodity prices have boosted the country’s energy exports, the central bank has said. Russia’s current account surplus almost doubled last year and hit a record high amid rising global energy prices and despite the imposition of Western sanctions, the country’s central bank reported on Tuesday.The current account – which measures the difference between outgoing funds and money coming into the country through trade, investment and transfers – grew by almost 86% year-on-year in 2022 to $227.4 billion, the regulator’s preliminary data showed.The central bank said soaring commodity prices throughout 2022 had helped push the current account balance higher, while…

The US tech giant will axe 10,000 employees by the end of March amid concerns over a global economic slowdown. Microsoft announced on Wednesday it will eliminate 10,000 jobs worldwide, almost 5% of its workforce, and take a $1.2-billion charge as global growth is slowing down.In a note to employees seen by Reuters, the company’s chief executive Satya Nadella said the layoffs would conclude by the end of March, with notifications beginning Wednesday.According to the CEO, the company was grappling with a slump in the personal computer market as customers that were accelerating their spending on digital technology during the…

New energy sources and lower demand due to unusually warm weather are expected save the EU’s biggest economy from contraction. Accelerated efforts towards diversifying energy sources away from Russia, along with an unusually mild winter, will help the EU’s largest economy to avoid recession this year, according to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.Germany is weathering the winter energy crunch better than was feared a few weeks ago, the country’s leader said on Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg, adding that a swift pivot to new non-Russian energy sources had become a decisive factor in bolstering the nation’s economy.“I’m absolutely convinced that…

Moscow and Beijing are trying to rely less on Western financial instruments as their relationship grows stronger, Russia’s foreign minister says. Half of the trade turnover between Russia and China is conducted in national currencies and their share is growing rapidly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Wednesday.Speaking at a press conference on the results of the activities of Russian diplomacy in 2022, Lavrov stated that without “moves that could undermine our relations” and harm market players, Russia and China are cutting back on dependence on “Western instruments and unreliable partners.”In recent years, Russia and its trade partners, including…

Diversification efforts will help, but Russian gas will eventually return to Europe, the energy minister says. Global natural gas markets will remain unstable for the next several years due to a shortage of supply amid rising demand, Qatar’s energy minister and head of QatarEnergy, Saad Al Kaabi, said at an Atlantic Council conference in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.According to Al Kaabi, despite the current drop in European gas prices, largely due to mild weather, the region is likely to struggle to refill gas stockpiles for next winter given the lack of supplies from Russia.“It’s going to be a volatile situation for some…

The fired employees will have to pursue their claims separately. Twitter won a ruling on Friday that forces a group of laid-off workers to pursue their cases against the company through individual arbitration instead of a class-action lawsuit.San Francisco federal judge James Donato ruled that the five former workers suing over their severance packages had agreements with the company that effectively waived their ability to take Twitter to court, and therefore will be unable to sue the platform as a group.Donato postponed the decision on whether the entire class-action lawsuit should be dropped and divided into individual arbitration cases, as…

The country’s holdings surged by more than $14 billion in December, according to the Central Bank. Russia continues to grow its foreign currency reserves, which surpassed $580 billion in December, the Bank of Russia announced this week.According to the regulator, holdings amounted to $581.9 billion as of January 1, rising by 2.6% or $14.7 billion month-on-month due to a positive revaluation of currencies.The figure, however, is lower than a year ago – on January 1, 2022, the country’s international reserves stood at $630.6 billion, and later reached a historical maximum of $643.2 billion on February 18.Russia’s forex reserves consist of…

Many brands suspended campaigns on the platform after Elon Musk’s takeoverTwitter is offering free ad space to brands that run advertising campaigns on the platform, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing company emails.According to the report, Twitter will match the funds brands spend on their ads, with two conditions. First, the spending must not exceed $250,000. Second, the full volume of ads including Twitter’s incentive – up to $500,000 in total – must run by February 28.Last month, media reported of a similar action by the platform, that time offering to match up to $500,000 in ad spending if the…

The EU’s race to replace Russian pipeline gas lies behind the unprecedented surge, according to RefinitivImports of liquified natural gas (LNG) by global consumers in 2022 totaled 409 million tons, compared to 379.6 million tons in the previous year, according to data from Refinitiv, as cited by Reuters.The record volumes were reportedly due to soaring demand, especially from the EU, which emerged as the premium market for the super-chilled fuel as it rushes to reduce supplies of Russian pipeline gas.The region is estimated to have purchased around 25% of all LNG traded in 2022, winning the competition with Asian consumers,…