Markets & Industries
Former Fed chief warns of risk of a longer recession - 01/19/2021
Former US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, whom President-elect Joe Biden is set to appoint as Treasury Secretary, warned about the risks of a longer and more painful recession. This will happen if the Congress fails to approve additional support measures and calls to take "sweeping action" to stimulate an economic recovery. The Wall Street Journal reports that Yellen will address the Senate...
UBS warns against buying bitcoin - 01/18/2021
Strategists at Swiss bank UBS warned investors about the risks of devaluation of cryptocurrencies, writes Bloomberg with reference to a message, which employees of the division of UBS Global Wealth Management, engaged in private capital management, sent to clients in response to inquiries about the advisability of buying bitcoins. The bank's experts said that in the long run, digital assets could...
Chinese exports grow amid pandemic - 01/15/2021
China's exports for 2020 rose 3.6% from 2019 to a record $2.59 trillion, despite the pandemic, while Chinese imports fell 1.1%, to $2.06 trillion, Chinese customs data showed. Exports were up just 0.5% in 2019 after climbing 9.9% in 2018. Imports then shrank 2.8 percent versus a 15.8 percent increase in 2019. China's 2020 trade balance increased to $535 billion, the highest since 2015. "Export...
Global food prices hit three-year high - 01/12/2021
Food prices rose for the seventh consecutive month to a three-year high by December 2020, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said. Prices of dairy products and vegetable oils rose the most, the organisation added. "For 2020 as a whole, the average value of this (food price) index, which monitors monthly variations in the world prices of the most traded food commodities, reached its...
UAE raises oil prices following Saudis - 01/11/2021
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is raising February oil prices following Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reported. According to the agency, ADNOC set the February price for Murban crude at a premium of 75 cents, which is 25 cents more than in January. The agency earlier reported that Saudi oil and gas company Saudi Aramco raised February oil prices for Asian buyers. OPEC+, following its...
US and European indices go up despite turmoil in Washington - 01/08/2021
The Dow Jones index reached an all-time high of 31,193.4 points, up more than 2.6% since the unrest began in Washington. On January 6, the NASDAQ Composite index was down 0.6%, but rebounded 2.6% the next day to 13,038.25 points, also posting a new all-time high. On January 7, the leading European stock indexes added 0.3-0.9%, and gained 2.1-4% over the two days. The ongoing economic recovery...
JPMorgan forecasts Bitcoin to rise to $146,000 - 01/07/2021
In the long term, the price of bitcoin may exceed $146,000, analysts at JPMorgan forecast. According to them, the cryptocurrency will gradually displace gold as an "alternative" currency. In the long term bitcoin exchange rate may exceed $146,000 on the background of displacement of gold as a protective asset, according to strategists of JPMorgan Chase headed by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, quoted by...
WB expects global economy to grow by 4% provided large-scale vaccination is carried - 01/07/2021
If vaccination against the COVID-19 coronavirus is universally implemented, the global economy will grow by 4% this year, according to a report by the World Bank (WB). With a slow process of universal vaccination and an increase in new infections, experts allow global economic growth to be limited to 1.6 percent. "The global economy is expected to grow by 4% in 2021, assuming the initial...
Greek Finance Ministry launches early repayment of IMF debt - 12/30/2020
The Greek Ministry of Finance has begun early repayment procedures for about €3.6 billion of the loans which the country received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, "as part of the public debt management programme in 2021, the Greek Ministry of Finance has started the procedure for a new early repayment of around €3.6bn of the amount of...
FT: Banks earn record $ 125 billion in fees in 2020 - 12/30/2020
Banks earned a record $124.5bn in fees in 2020, thanks to increased volatility in the equity market and rising debt markets, reported the Financial Times (FT), citing data from researchers at Refinitiv. Jason Goldberg, an analyst at Barclays UK, says: "This year has been a very busy year for both bond and equity markets as companies have turned to the capital markets to strengthen their balance...
