Author: Steven Sahiounie

The global economy is stuttering, and some of the world’s biggest names are already laying off thousands of employees. But there’s a glimmer of good news: This time around, workers have a better-than-usual shot at holding onto their jobs if recession arrives. Almost three years after COVID-19 hit, companies around the world still complain that they can’t get the talent they need. They worry about labor shortages that will likely last beyond not just the pandemic, but the next downturn too. Deeper forces, such as changes in population and immigration, are shrinking the pool of workers they can hire from.…

world Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab praised Communist China in a November 19 interview with cgtn’s Tian Wei, calling it a “role model” for many countries. Specifically, Schwab told Chinese state media that humanity needs a “systemic transformation of the world” and that while we “should be very careful in imposing systems,” the “Chinese model is certainly a very attractive model for quite a number of countries.” He did not elaborate on what aspects of the Chinese model appealed to him, but he has long been a vocal advocate of corporate socialism. Great Reset: Schwab, a German engineer and economist, founded the…

440$ million: That’s the total available prize money pool for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. At the ongoing Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Saudi Arabian male national team beat the Lionel Messi-led star-studded Argentine national team in their opening group game of the World Cup and social media went into overdrive. News broke, accompanied by a curious video of the Saudi team being rewarded with a Rolls Royce car each. Alas, the news about this extraordinary reward was false. This does not take away from the bountiful financial harvest that the World Cup represents for FIFA, the competing national…

The US has banned the sale and import of new communications equipment from five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE, amid concerns over national security. Other companies listed include Hikvision, Dahua and Hytera, which make video surveillance equipment and two-way radio systems. It is the first time US regulators have taken such a move on security grounds. Hikvision said that its products present no security threat to the US. It said the decision “will do nothing to protect US national security, but will do a great deal to make it more harmful and more expensive for US small businesses, local…

NEW YORK, Nov 28 (Reuters) – The global oil market is signaling a potential shift, as traders and analysts worry about reduced crude demand and an oversupplied market in the coming months. After months of strength, crude futures are flirting with lows not seen all year as top oil consumer China enters additional COVID-19 lockdowns while central banks hike interest rates to combat inflation. Front-month global oil prices in the last week have traded weaker than future-dated contracts, while prices for physical crude grades throughout the world have declined, market participants said. “Differentials are confirming what outright prices have been…

India is pushing ahead with plans to launch an e-rupee, with the aim to have a stable central bank digital currency as concerns about the volatility and oversight risks that have roiled cryptocurrencies globally continue to grow. The Reserve Bank of India rolled out its first pilot scheme for the e-rupee at the beginning of this month, allowing some banks to use the digital rupee to settle secondary market transactions in government bonds. The RBI now plans to start testing the retail uses of the digital form of the Indian rupee. “Since it is a digital form of legal tender backed by…

For people hoping for a crypto-free day on FT Alphaville, we have bad news. Crypto is still doing its Thing. And there are still a lot of questions about what the space looks like in the wake of the FTX implosion (ie beyond the current Lord-of-the-Flies vibes). Around here we obviously hope we can go back to blissfully ignoring it. Purists hope that crypto will simply go back to its decentralised roots and build something beyond tradable JPEGs. But JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou reckons that little may actually change, and centralised exchanges will continue to rule the roost. Panigirtzoglou also…

The Lebanese Prime Minister says his country will not be able to get out of its financial crisis without authorities implementing structural reforms required by the International Monetary Fund. Over the last few years, Lebanon has been witnessing the worst financial crisis in its history amid a shortage of foreign currency reserves which caused the collapse of the Lebanese pound and a steep rise in inflation. Speaking this week, the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that a deal with the IMF would help Lebanon attract revenues in foreign currencies through the fund or donor countries. Compounding matters, the outbreak…

Canadian banks are set to reveal how they’re faring in the lead up to a possible recession as they report quarterly earnings this week. As central banks raise interest rates to slow inflation, economic fears have held bank stocks back compared with the overall market, so analysts will be looking to see how well set up the sector is before an expected slowdown next year. Starting with Scotiabank reporting on Tuesday, the results will cover the three months ending Oct. 31. During that period, the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate twice, bringing its key interest rate to 3.75 per cent. The central bank is expected to hike rates again at its last decision of the year on…

Russian exports of precious metals to China remain relatively small. Imports of Russian gold into China in October amounted to 2.16 tons, marking a seven-year high, business daily RBK reported this week, citing data from China’s General Administration of Customs. In monetary terms, Russian exports of gold in raw and semi-manufactured forms to China reportedly doubled, having totaled $124.6 million. In the ten months through October, Chinese gold imports from Russia amounted to 5.72 tons, which is 1.9 times more than in the same period in 2021. In monetary terms, deliveries in January-October soared 1.8 times to $330 million. Despite…