Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Bank of England raised interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point on Thursday, the biggest hike in 33 years, as it tries to contain soaring inflation even as the UK economy slides towards a recession that could last two years. The central bank made its eighth interest rate hike in less than a year, taking its benchmark rate to 3%, the highest it has been since November 2008. The huge hike matches moves made by the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the European Central Bank last week. “Inflation is too high, and it’s the bank’s job…

One of Apple’s largest suppliers is trying to strike a delicate balance in China. Foxconn (HNHPF) has to comply with some of the harshest Covid rules in the world while ensuring that Apple’s (AAPL) shipments are not severely disrupted just before the key holiday season begins. The Taiwanese company, which has been racing to control a Covid outbreak at its vast campus in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, has started recruiting for the facility once again and is offering bonuses for staff who had recently left, according to a statement posted on one of the company’s WeChat accounts. Foxconn’s statement…

Iran expects to sign a $40 billion agreement with Russian energy major Gazprom in December, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Safari said this week. “We have closed a $6.5 billion deal with Gazprom. We hope that the remaining agreements totaling $40 billion will be signed next month,” Safari told ISNA news agency, adding that negotiations are underway. The National Iranian Oil Company and Gazprom agreed in July to cooperate in the development of two gas deposits and six oilfields in Iran. The document also includes swaps in natural gas and oil products, the implementation of LNG projects, and the construction…

Austrian officials have urged citizens to reduce their energy consumption after the stress testing the country’s grid system showed that a cold winter could push the country’s power supply to the limit. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Austrian Climate and Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler warned of a tough months ahead, with the network’s operator calling the “situation extremely challenging but manageable” in a “realistic scenario.” The minister noted that critical scenarios would become less likely if people and companies used electricity sparingly. “This is why I ask everyone in our country – help, save energy if you can. Together we…

The world’s largest oil importer, China, purchased 43.14 million tons of crude in October, equating to 10.2 million barrels per day, according to data released by the country’s customs service on Monday. October oil imports were 4% greater than in September and the highest since May. In September, Beijing moved to boost the export of refined oil products by issuing a 15-million-ton annual quota, which could be rolled over into the first quarter. According to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg, the impact of the move will continue to show up in crude import data for several months, with nearly 9.3…

Algeria has reportedly filed an official application to join the BRICS group of major emerging economies. News website Al-Shouruk said the announcement came from Leila Zerrouki, the Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for international partnerships, speaking on state radio. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune recently said the country was interested in joining Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa in the BRICS group, explaining that the country largely meets the criteria for membership. Later, Russian Ambassador to Algeria Valeryan Shuvaev indicated that Moscow had no objections to Algeria joining. At this year’s BRICS summit, held online in June, the format was expanded…

Türkiye has started paying for some of its natural gas from Russia in rubles, the Turkish energy minister revealed on Tuesday in an interview with broadcaster TRT Haber. Fatih Donmez said that in the coming months, the share of local currency payments in energy trade with Moscow will increase, and the sides are currently conducting technical work on such a shift. “As you know, an agreement has been reached, partial payment has already begun. We intend to intensify our work in this direction,” the minister said. In September, Ankara and Moscow agreed that Türkiye would pay for 25% of the gas…

British house prices fell in October at the fastest monthly rate since February 2021, a fresh sign of weakness in the real estate market that reflects the fallout from the former government’s economic plan, according to Halifax. In a report on Monday, the mortgage lender said property prices had dropped 0.4% month-on-month, after a 0.1% fall in September. The average price has declined to £292,598 ($334,508). Halifax indicated that the slowdown had been partly driven by the September 23 economic agenda of former prime minister Liz Truss, known as the mini-budget, which sent British financial markets into freefall and pushed…

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The Arab League met in Algeria for the first time in two years, and their final declaration called for freedom for the Palestinian people who have suffered under a brutal Israeli military occupation for almost six decades. The meeting of nearly 22 nations across the Middle East and North Africa coincided with Israeli elections, which has brought to power a far-right party that wants to annex the West Bank and deport Palestinians from their homes. Arab leaders attending the meeting tip-toed around the Abraham Accords, which saw the United Emirates and Bahrain normalize their…

The total exceeded $300 million in the first eight months of the year, according to the Russian embassy Trade turnover between Russia and Iraq between January and August 2022 amounts to $313.1 million, exceeding last year’a total of $282.7 million, an economic adviser at the Russian embassy in Baghdad, Ilya Lobov, has said, in an interview with RIA Novosti published on Saturday. “If we compare this to the year before last year, then we recorded a two-and-a-half-times increase. The positive dynamic was influenced by a significant increase in the volume of purchases of our sunflower oil, wheat flour and animal…