Author: Steven Sahiounie

Nearly half of Russians have successfully found domestic substitutes for foreign products made unavailable due to sanctions, RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday, citing a poll by NielsenIQ research company. According to the findings, over the past year, 47% of Russians “have completely switched to locally produced brands or began to buy products of local production more often.” About a third of respondents did not change their preferences and continued to buy the same brands they used to before 2022, and 17% switched to new brands, but also of foreign production. Respondents offered several reasons for turning to local brands. Over…

Now, it must pour billions of dollars into rebuilding 11 southeastern provinces flattened by the February 6 tremor — the worst disaster of its post-Ottoman history. That money will have to come on top of the billions of dollars in election promises that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made in the run-up to crucial polls still tentatively planned for May 14. All this cash could turbo-charge consumer spending and industrial production — two key indicators of economic growth. The problem for Erdogan, however, is that Turkey is very short of funds. The central bank’s vanishing coffers have been replenished by…

LONDON — A tight labor market and comparatively slow return to earth for inflation means the Bank of England is likely to press ahead with a further interest rate hike in March, economists suggest. The market probability of a further 25 basis point increase at the Monetary Policy Committee’s next meeting nudged up past 73% on Wednesday before sliding back to around 66% by Thursday morning, according to Refinitiv data. The U.K. annual inflation rate dipped for a third straight month to 10.1% in January, landing below consensus forecasts, even as high food and energy prices continue to squeeze British households. Although…

Shares DraftKings surged Friday morning after the sports-betting company reported stronger-than-expected revenue and raised its outlook for 2023. The stock closed 15% higher at $20.54, giving it a market value of $8.39 billion. The bump came on the heels of DraftKings being the most downloaded sportsbook app in the U.S. on Super Bowl Sunday, according to the company. States where sports betting is newly legal are boosting sales, too. For its fiscal fourth quarter, Draftkings said its revenue of $855 million is an increase of 81% compared to the $473 million it took in during the same period in 2021. It reported a loss…

Roses are red, violets are blue, if you’re single and rent, more money is due This Valentine’s Day, Zillow has uncovered a heartbreaking truth for apartment-hunting singles: Renters living in a one-bedroom on their own face a yearly “singles tax”1 of nearly $7,000, according to an analysis by Zillow. While singles across the country pay a high price for a solo living arrangement, the size of that “tax” varies widely depending on where they live. The price of living alone in a one-bedroom apartment is the highest in New York City, where StreetEasy data finds that singles pay $19,500 more a year than someone living with a…

Railway engineering workers are set to take part in a series of 48-hour strikes next month due to a pay dispute. The action comes after the workers at infrastructure group Balfour Beatty overwhelmingly rejected the company’s offer of a 5.5% increase in pay. Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will take strike action between the 3-5 March, 10-12 March, and 17-19 March – with each of the walkouts starting at 10pm on the Friday and ending at 10am on the Sunday. “These highly skilled workers have had enough of not been offered a decent wage rise”, said RMT general…

Tesco, Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, is to kick off a review of its presence in the UK banking sector – a move that could lead to a sale of the business. Sky News has learnt that the grocery giant is lining up Goldman Sachs to advise on the future of Tesco Bank, which launched in 1997. City insiders said this weekend that the review was at a very preliminary stage and may not lead to a formal sale process. One source suggested that a partial sale or joint venture could also be an option for the retailer. A banking analyst…

Parliament on Friday reconstituted its Committee to advise the Speaker on the appointment of other members of the Parliamentary Service Board.The membership of the reconstituted advisory Committee include: Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, Mr Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader and Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, the Deputy Minority Leader.Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, in moving the motion for adoption by the House, said the reason for reconstituting the advisory Committee was due to the changes in the Leadership of the Parliamentary Caucus of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).“Mr…

The number will not change the path of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. While a lot of the higher prices for long-lived goods bought during the pandemic when people were unable to shop in person or visit restaurants has reversed itself, the shift to services spending on items like eating out, getting a haircut or taking a pet to the vet has seen those costs rise. How quickly they might come down or stop growing is an open question.Then there are wages. Employee pay surged during the pandemic and while the pace of its growth has slowed, it is still…

As the Bank of Canada monitors the economy’s response to higher interest rates, governor Tiff Macklem says it is still overheated and the labour market is too tight.The governor’s comments come after Statistics Canada’s most recent labour force survey revealed the economy added 150,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate hovers around record lows.While testifying before the House of Commons finance committee on Thursday, Macklem told MPs the economy is in excess demand, which is putting upward pressure on prices. TThat’s despite the Bank of Canada aiming to slow the economy and cool inflation by hiking its key interest rate…