Author: Steven Sahiounie

Half of the country’s external transactions are now being made in other currencies, the Central Bank says. The share of the US dollar and the euro in Russia’s cross-border payments has fallen by more than a third since the beginning of the year, from 79% to about 50%, the country’s Central Bank announced this week. While the bulk of export and import settlements remain in dollars and euros, these payments are hampered by sanctions, as many Russian banks have been disconnected from the Western financial messaging system, SWIFT, and are now unable to carry out certain transactions. The use of…

Software developers, data analysts, and cybersecurity jobs are bright spots in a rapidly moving IT employment landscape. Economic uncertainty, rising inflation, changing lifestyles and a volatile labor market are unprecedentedly influencing company hiring and prospective IT job markets. Businesses are intensifying recruitment in critical areas, such as AI and data analytics, yet pulling back on long-term IT positions and employment. At the same time, rising IT talent is pursuing more flexible and engaging work environments as new opportunities open up and desirable lifestyle options evolve. Software developers, data analysts and cybersecurity jobs are bright spots in a rapidly moving IT employment landscape. According…

Gujarat is the fastest-growing state for the last nine years (from FY12 to FY21), according to the latest data released by RBI. Gujarat’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at the constant price has increased at compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.2 per cent. It has grown from Rs 6.16 lakh crore in the Financial Year (FY) 2012 to Rs 12.48 lakh crore in FY21 (the latest data for FY22 is not available). Gujarat is also the second largest state in India, only behind Maharastra which has a GSDP of Rs 18.89 lakh crore. Karnataka is the second fastest-growing major state economy, with…

amed economist Paul Krugman has opined that the cryptocurrency era might be nearing its end based on the fact that his most recent anti-blockchain piece attracted very little crypto bro outrage.  In a recent New York Times op-ed published on Dec. 1, Krugman argues that the term “crypto winter,” which is widely used by the media to describe the ongoing crisis, might be an understatement. According to the Nobel Prize-winning economist, the brutal comedown that the cryptocurrency industry experienced this year feels like Fimbulwinter, the extremely harsh multi-year winter that precedes the end of the world in Norse mythology.  Further…

Cryptocurrency markets are holding relatively steady after a few days of rallying, with the global crypto market cap sitting at $853.21B, a 0.18% decrease over the last day. Bitcoin is down slightly and still failing to break above $17,000, currently hovering below the important resistance at $16,946.86 and down 0.23% over the past 24 hours. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were falling on Friday, weakening after a stronger-than-expected US jobs report for November , It’s a stark reminder of the relationship between equities and crypto. The main news today affecting risk asset markets such as stocks and cryptos is the federal jobs report…

The most recent earnings reports from Canada’s big banks are showing signs that the Canadian economy is slowing down ahead of a potential recession, with some signs of optimism.The Big Six banks – RBC, TD, CIBC, Scotiabank, BMO and National Bank – all released their Q4 2022 reports this week. Five out of the six saw their profits dip compared to last year and three fell short of their earnings expectations.Michael Morrow, managing director of mergers and acquisitions and capital markets at financial firm BDO Canada, says high inflation, lower capital markets activity and rising loan-loss provisions are all putting…

India is set to overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third-largest economy, according to S&P Global and Morgan Stanley.S&P’s forecast is based on the projection that India’s annual nominal gross domestic product growth will average 6.3% through 2030. Similarly, Morgan Stanley estimates that India’s GDP is likely to more than double from current levels by 2031.“India has the conditions in place for an economic boom fueled by offshoring, investment in manufacturing, the energy transition, and the country’s advanced digital infrastructure,” Morgan Stanley analysts led by Ridham Desai and Girish Acchipalia wrote in the report.“These drivers will make [India] the world’s third-largest…

Money is being re-directed away from millions of Australians’ bank accounts. It’s been a long time coming.Cast your mind back to May, when the Reserve Bank raised interest rates. It was the first cash rate hike by the RBA since October 2009.The bank had to make the move. Inflation was building and the forces behind it weren’t going away.While the decision made headlines, it was largely inconsequential for households and their budgets at the time.That is, nothing happened to bank accounts that afternoon, or the next day, or the next week for that matter. Life continued as normal.Fast forward to…

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada gestures to speak during an Upper House Budget Committee session in Tokyo on Thursday. | BLOOMBERGREUTERSDec 3, 2022SHAREJapan is set to earmark ¥43 trillion ($295 billion to $318 billion) for defense spending over five years starting in the next fiscal year, which begins in April, three sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday.That would be a jump from the current five-year defense plan for spending ¥27.5 trillion, stoking worry about worsening one of the industrial world’s worst debt burdens, which amounts to twice the size of Japan’s annual economic output.The new numbers marked a compromise between the…

The shift to new suppliers will come in a matter of months, according to the plane maker. Major aircraft manufacturer Airbus expects to cut its reliance on Russian titanium supplies within months, Michael Schoellhorn, chief executive of the group’s Defence & Space division has said on Thursday, as quoted by Reuters.The company has reportedly expanded supplies of the vital metal from alternative exporters in an effort to shun supplies from Russia as part of broader EU sanctions on the country.“We are in the process of decoupling from Russia when it comes to titanium. It will be a matter of months,…