Author: Steven Sahiounie

Analysts say the decline is due to unseasonably mild weatherNatural gas prices in the EU fell this week to levels not seen since before the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, data from the London Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) shows.The costs of front-month natural gas futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands plunged in recent weeks to below €77 ($81.91) per megawatt hour (MWh) in household terms, a level not seen since February. They were trading at around €81.5 ($86.73) on Thursday morning.At their peak in August, European gas prices topped €345 ($367) MWh, sending household energy bills soaring…

Oil price cap will backfire – economistCountries that support the measure will have a difficult time trying to substitute lost Russian supplies, Mamdouh Salameh saysWestern countries have failed in their attempts to stem the surge in global oil prices with the price cap on Russian crude exports, Mamdouh Salameh, a prominent oil economist and World Bank energy consultant, told Oilprice news outlet this week.According to Salameh, none of the major oil-producing countries would agree to sell their crude at a price much lower than the market average, which would effectively deprive the West of oil supplies.“The Western price cap on…

By 2026, India’s digital economy is expected to be worth $1 trillion. Data protection bill paving the way?India is one of the fastest-growing digital economies in the world. While there have been numerous talks about a $1 trillion digital economy we need to first understand what a digital economy entails. A digital economy is one that is reliant on the usage of digital technologies, infrastructure, services and Data. The inclusion of digital technologies has changed the nature of infrastructure required to support related services and processes. carrying a criminal penalty of up to 10 years of imprisonment. The digital data protection bill…

Expert estimates long COVID could cost economy $3.7 trillionThe costs of COVID-19 just keep climbing. According to an article from CNBC, long COVID could end up costing the economy over $3.7 trillion dollars, and the yearly average medical costs will be around $9,000 per patient.The estimates come from David Cutler, an economist from Harvard University. He based his estimates partly on previous research on chronic fatigue syndrome, which closely mirrors COVID-19 both in symptoms and treatment options, CNBC reports. Cutler’s total $3.7 trillion estimate includes a combination of costs related to reduced quality of life, reduced earnings, and increased medical expenses for…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator In Ashrafieh, the wealthy Christian neighborhood in east Beirut, there is a group of 300 young, muscular, and bearded men patrolling the streets from 6 pm. to 6 am. as part of Neighborhood Watch, but they have an extremist Christian ideology which many have termed neo-fascist. They call the group the Soldiers of God, and its members refer to themselves as the Guardian Angels. According to an investigation carried out by Lebanese army intelligence, the Soldiers of God participated in the October 2021 massacre of 7 people, and the injury of 32 others who…

Key Points The Office for National Statistics reported that between June and August 2022, around 2.5 million people cited long-term sickness as the main reason for economic inactivity, an increase of around half a million since 2019.In its report last month, the ONS said a range of factors could be behind the recent spike, including National Health Service waiting lists that are at record highs, an aging population and the effects of long Covid.The number of “economically inactive” people — those neither working nor looking for a job — between the ages of 16 and 64 has risen by more…

The Russian regulator says it has no confidence Western institutions will safeguard investors’ rights to use their unblocked fundsPermits issued by the international clearing systems Euroclear and Clearstream to unblock some assets of Russia’s National Settlement Depository (NSD) do not guarantee that Russian investors will be able to recover them, the country’s central bank said in a statement on Wednesday.Last week, the Belgian and Luxembourg finance ministries authorized the release of “certain frozen funds and economic resources” that belong to non-sanctioned Russian investors, by granting a general license to the NSD. A number of banks had their funds blocked in…

The government will support high-tech industries and investments, the Russian president has saidMoscow will continue to promote the development of modern, high-tech companies and create comfortable conditions for investors to work in the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.The statement was made during the launch of the Pskov Titan-Polymer Plant, which is expected to strengthen Russia’s industrial sovereignty and contribute to import substitution of polymer products used in the pharmaceutical industry and food packaging, among other areas.Putin, who was participating in the event via video link, talked about plans to form an industrial cluster of enterprises in Pskov…

The inflation rate in the country will continue to rise in 2023, according to a surveyMost Germans do not expect consumer price growth to ease next year, according to a survey released on Monday by analytics firm YouGov. Inflation in Europe’s top economy hit double digits for the first time in 70 years this fall. Half of the 2,057 people surveyed consider it likely that inflation will continue to rise in 2023. Just under a third (28%) expect price growth to remain at the high level of the past months. Only 13% of respondents expect lower inflation in 2023. The poll…

Gazprom has revealed plans to massively increase deliveries to the Asian countryRussian energy major Gazprom set a new daily record on December 28 for gas deliveries to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline, the CEO of the energy giant, Aleksey Miller, announced on Wednesday.   Gazprom has ramped up supplies to the Asian country compared to what had previously been planned for December, exceeding daily contractual obligations by up to 18.7%, Miller said.   Russia supplies gas to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline, a section of the so-called East Route, under a bilateral long-term agreement between the two countries.…