Author: Steven Sahiounie

efined products trading at a premium or sold at a discount to crude, will be capped differentlyThe US-led price cap coalition will place two separate price limits on Russian oil products depending on their category, the US Treasury Department said in a statement on Friday.According to the statement, following a meeting between Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and deputy ministers representing other G7 countries, EU states, and Australia, the sides also decided to review the price ceiling for Russian crude oil, which came into force last month, in March.“The Deputies agreed to an approach for refined products that will institute…

In the last quarter, the crypto market showed increased stability, with many coins experiencing a price surge. Bitcoin, in particular, has shown incredible gains since the start of 2023, having gained over 38% to trade above $22,500 for the first time in two months.Alongside Bitcoin, many altcoins have been very successful in the market, and they have pulled off a stunning performances. Aptos (APT), one of the earliest blockchain projects, is up 54.73% from the previous day based on data from CoinMarketCap.APT has been one of the best performers in 2023 since its creation. For example, in January, it increased…

Finland has blocked millions worth of real estate, stocks, and other property that belong to Russian citizensFinland has frozen roughly €187 ($203) million worth of Russian assets under Ukraine-related sanctions, Pia Sarivaara, a spokeswoman for the country’s Foreign Ministry, said on Sunday.According to Sarivaara, these assets include “various valuable property” belonging to Russian citizens; in particular, real estate, stocks, cars, yachts and planes.“The Department for Debt Recovery deals with frozen assets in the country. At this time, the department has frozen assets in the amount of €187 million euros.”Finnish television channel MTV Uutiset recently reported that the blocking of Russian…

British house prices, which have been on a downward trend recently, will fall by up to 10% this year, according to Lloyds Bank CEO Charlie Nunn, citing higher mortgage rates and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.He told CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the UK is facing a mild recession this year, with a GDP fall of about 0.1%. According to Nunn, unemployment will stay strong and “that’s more because of the constraints on the supply side, interest rates about 4% and a recovery coming into 2023.”“The other challenge a lot of…

The world’s largest oilfield firm SLB (formerly Schlumberger) has managed to boost its operations in Russia by cherry-picking service and equipment contracts from Western rivals that opted to leave the country due to the threat of Ukraine-related sanctions, Reuters reported, citing the company’s papers and people familiar with the issue.In March, the oil field giant announced immediate plans to suspend new investment and technology deployment to its Russia operations due to “immense concern” over the “escalating conflict in Ukraine.”Despite sharp criticism over SLB’s continued embrace of Russia, the company has expanded activity in the sanction-hit country and significantly increased its…

The number of new vehicles registered in the region in 2022 plunged to the lowest in 30 years, the ACEA saysThe European Union passenger car market contracted by 4.6% last year to just 9.3 million units, which is the region’s lowest level since 1993, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) reported this week.According to the report, the slump was mainly due to the impact of component shortages in the first half of the year. The market, however, improved from August to December, with new car registrations expanding by 12.8% in the last month of the year.Overall, in 2022 only Germany…

China stepped up imports of gold from Russia in 2022, data released by the country’s customs agency on Saturday showed. Last year, China bought a total of 6.6 tons of Russian gold, worth a record $386.9 million, including shipments in both unprocessed (3.7 tons) and semi-processed form (2.9 tons). In December alone, gold shipments from Russia to China totaled 220.2 kilograms, worth $14.85 million. Overall, Russian gold exports to the Asian nation soared by 67.3% in physical terms and by 63.3% in monetary terms from 2021. However, so far Russia’s share in Chinese gold purchases remains small. The main supplier…

The photo is originally published by Reuters

French workers have gone on strike and joined nationwide marches on a day of protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s very unpopular pensions reform plan. Train drivers, teachers and refinery workers were among those who walked off their jobs in Paris and several other major cities on Thursday. “It’s salaries and pensions that must be increased, not the retirement age,” read one large banner carried by workers that opened the protest march in Tours, western France. In Nice, southern France, a large banner read, “No to the reform.” French police fired tear gas during a protest in Paris when individuals in hoodies and…

The incident took place a few hours before the start of the Gulf Cup football tournament final. The Iraqi interior ministry has confirmed two deaths and about 80 injuries after a stampede at Basra International Stadium, according to local media. The incident occurred ahead of the final Gulf Cup football match between the teams of Iraq and Oman, which was due to kick off at 16:00 GMT. It is believed that the stampede broke out because the fans, who had arrived to Basra from across the Gulf, were mad that around 90 percent of tickets were sold out ahead of…