Author: Steven Sahiounie

Domestic oil exporters will reportedly have to make sure buyers don’t use the mechanism for resaleRussian exporters may soon be forbidden from selling oil to buyers under the Western price cap mechanism, the Kommersant news outlet reported, citing government sources.According to the report, the Ministry of Energy has prepared a draft decree obliging Russian legal entities and individuals to avoid Western-mandated oil price limit provisions in their contracts with foreign buyers. They will also have to ensure that these buyers, including traders and agents, comply with this requirement for the further resale of Russian oil.The contracts will also have to…

Rome is looking to Algeria to replace deliveries from the sanctions-hit countryItaly will completely end its dependence on Russian gas in the winter of 2024-25, the head of state-owned energy giant Eni, Claudio Descalzi, announced on Monday.Speaking during a visit by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Algeria, he confirmed that Rome is pushing for further expansion of cooperation with the North African country as part of the plan to wean itself off Russian gas.Descalzi noted that two years ago, Algeria supplied Italy with about 21 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas. Now the numbers have increased to 25…

Lingering problems in the EU energy sector can no longer be attributed to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Diario, published on Sunday.According to the diplomat, the bloc has managed to overcome its energy dependence on Russia.“We have, in a few months, abolished the energy dependence on Russia that we had been building up for years…We went through an extremely tense phase of rising prices, but they are back to pre-war levels,” he stated. According to Borrell, the sharp…

Brazil and Argentina plan to create a common currency, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing officials. The plan will be discussed and officially announced at a summit in Buenos Aires this week, according to the report.“There will be… a decision to start studying the parameters needed for a common currency, which includes everything from fiscal issues to the size of the economy and the role of central banks,” Argentina’s Economy Minister Sergio Massa told the news outlet.According to Massa, other Latin American nations will be invited to join the common currency project. Brazil is proposing calling the new currency ‘sur,’…

Over 1,300 companies were created by Russian citizens in Türkiye in 2022, data published on Sunday by Türkiye’s Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges shows.According to the findings, 1,363 firms were registered in the country with Russian participation, including 140 joint stock companies and 1,223 limited liability firms.The share of Russian companies in the overall number of firms established with foreign capital in Türkiye was the largest, surpassing Iranian (1,300) and German companies (484).Data shows that a total of 20,135 companies were established in Türkiye in 2022 using foreign capital, the most since 2010.The agency notes that foreigners invested mainly…

Bitcoin has extended gains over the weekend ahead of celebrations for the Lunar New Year holiday and the Spring Festival throughout Southeast Asia, rallying to its highest level since August.The flagship cryptocurrency surged to over $23,000 on Saturday, gaining as much as 10% at one point compared to the earlier day, data by CoinMarketCap shows. The coin has reached a local high of around $23,282, a level not seen in more than five months. As of now, Bitcoin is trading around $22,900, almost flat over the past day.Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, also registered significant gains, reaching a local high of…

The World Economic Forum 2023 has announced the joining of Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, to the WEF Leadership Council, which includes 13 members from various countries.The Council will be an important institutional community to act as a sounding board for the Forum’s long-term strategy and help it to play a particular role as an informal, yet efficient global bridge-builder and annual platform that encourage business growth and establish international cooperation and dialogue.Al Gergawi stressed that the UAE’s participation in the World Economic Forum over more than 20 years reflects the pioneering role of the country,…

The number of insolvencies has reportedly risen for the first time in three yearsJapan recorded its first increase in the number of company bankruptcies in three years in 2022, according to a new survey by Teikoku Databank.The report showed that a total of 6,376 companies declared bankruptcy in the country last year, which is 6% higher than in 2021. Those companies’ total debt soared almost 104% to 2.37 trillion yen (over $18 billion), but almost half of that came from auto parts supplier Marelli Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June.The only industry that did not record an increase…

The company now has fewer than 550 full-time engineers, the news outlet reported, citing internal documentsOver 6,000 Twitter employees – around 80% of the company’s workforce – have either quit or been laid off since billionaire Elon Musk bought the company, CNBC reported on Friday, citing data from the platform’s internal records.According to the documents, Twitter’s full-time headcount is down to approximately 1,300 active employees, from a staff of roughly 7,500 prior to the buyout. Fewer than 550 of those still working are full-time engineers. The trust and safety department, which is responsible for policy recommendations, design, and product changes,…

Japan’s trade deficit hits record high – dataA perfect storm created by growing commodity prices and a weakening national currency sent Japanese import costs soaring in 2022, with the trade deficit hitting a record high of 19.97 trillion yen ($155 billion), Nikkei reported, citing officials statistics.According to preliminary data tracked by the country’s ministry of finance, growth in Japan’s exports amounted to 98.18 trillion yen ($764 billion) last year, marking a surge of 18%. At the same time, imports reportedly soared by more than 39% and totaled 118.15 trillion yen ($920 billion).The estimated annual deficit, recorded for a second consecutive…