Business

OPEC Sees More Uncertainties in Oil Market
14Nov By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News

OPEC Sees More Uncertainties in Oil Market

Oil cartel OPEC sees increasing uncertainty in the global oil market and is again adjusting its forecast for oil demand downwards. The organization points to, among other things, high inflation, corona restrictions in China, recession concerns and interest rate hikes by central banks, which could affect oil demand. Oil demand is now expected to increase by 2.55 million barrels per day this year. That is 100,000 less per day than previously thought. It is the fifth time since April that OPEC has lowered its forecast for oil demand for this year. Expectations for next year were also lowered. "The global economy entered a period of significant uncertainty and increasing challenges in the fourth quarter of 2022," OPEC said in its monthly report. As a result, the oil cartel is work...
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Eurozone Economy is Still Growing, But at a Slower Pace
31Oct By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, Europe, News

Eurozone Economy is Still Growing, But at a Slower Pace

The economy in the eurozone continued to grow in the third quarter, reports the European statistical office Eurostat. However, growth is less strong than in the second quarter, when the economy was still progressing strongly due to the reopening of the economy after the corona restrictions. Meanwhile, high inflation and interest rate hikes to limit this depreciation also affect economic growth. The eurozone economy was 2.1 percent larger in the third quarter than a year earlier. Across the European Union, the economy had grown 2.4 percent. However, in both areas, growth compared to the second quarter was 0.2 percent. Portugal had the strongest annual growth at 4.9 percent of the countries that already provided data. The economy in Latvia has already contracted. Major economies...
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Taiwanese Chip Maker TSMC Wants to Expand in Japan
19Oct By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, Japan, News, Technology

Taiwanese Chip Maker TSMC Wants to Expand in Japan

The Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC wants to expand in Japan. With this, the company wants to reduce geopolitical risks in the chip sector, the American business newspaper Wall Street Journal writes based on insiders. Taiwan is de facto independent but is seen by China as a renegade province. In recent years, the Asian superpower has made it increasingly clear that Taiwan must become part of “the motherland” again. Recently, China held a major military exercise around Taiwan. That happened after a visit by American politician Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. TSMC makes the majority of the chips and does this on behalf of tech companies. The company is already building a factory in Japan and is considering more factories. TSMC is also working on a plant in the US state of Arizona.
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SWIFT Further Expands Digital Coin Experiment
5Oct By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News, Technology

SWIFT Further Expands Digital Coin Experiment

After eight months of experimentation, SWIFT presents its plans for its digital coin network. The intention is to require more efficient and fewer connections between banks in the future. SWIFT is the messaging system between banks for, among other things, money transfers between players. For the past eight months, it has been experimenting with different technologies and currencies with the central banks of France and Germany and some major financial players. Naturally, this concerns CBDCs, central bank digital currency. According to Reuters, that first test will continue with more advanced testing in the coming year. The setup is partly similar to how cryptocurrencies work, with different parties connecting to a central hub. Today this happens among financial institutions with ...
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US Research: Bitcoin is Not Getting Greener, on the Contrary
4Oct By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News, Technology

US Research: Bitcoin is Not Getting Greener, on the Contrary

Bitcoin is sometimes called the new digital gold, but digital oil would be a better term to describe its environmental impact, according to a study in Scientific Reports. According to that research, Bitcoin's ecological footprint has increased significantly since 2016. Unfortunately, the coin sometimes creates more damage than it is worth. Bitcoin's climate damage averaged 35 percent of its market value between 2016 and 2021. That is a lot more than that of gold (4 percent). On the other hand, it is closer to that of gasoline from oil (41 percent), electricity from natural gas (46 percent) or beef (33 percent). The damage to the environment and climate is so great that it sometimes exceeds the currency's value. "We find several cases between 2016-2021 where Bitcoin is more dam...
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US Stock Market Watchdog Fines Kim Kardashian for Promoting Crypto Currency
3Oct By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News, US

US Stock Market Watchdog Fines Kim Kardashian for Promoting Crypto Currency

The US stock market regulator SEC fined reality star Kim Kardashian more than 1 million dollars. This is because Kardashian would have advertised a crypto coin without knowing that she was being paid for it. That is against US regulations. According to the SEC, Kardashian used social media to promote EMAX crypto coins. For this, Kardashian was paid more than $250,000 by EthereumMax, the coin provider. Kardashian must now repay the amount and interest and a $1 million fine. It also agrees to stop advertising cryptocurrencies for three years. The SEC has been warning for some time against celebrities touting cryptocurrencies. Boxer Floyd Mayweather, among others, was fined in 2018 for the same reason as Kardashian. According to the SEC, cryptocurrencies fall under the stoc...
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Brent Oil Price Drops Below $90 A Barrel
19Sep By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, News

Brent Oil Price Drops Below $90 A Barrel

The price for a barrel of Brent oil fell by 2 percent on Monday to below $ 90 a barrel. Traders appear to be anticipating a further tightening of monetary policy, with a high probability of an economic slowdown. The US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England will make an interest rate decision this week. On the other hand, the US dollar is close to an all-time high, making dollar-priced commodities more expensive. Fears of a recession in Europe are mounting - the Bundesbank also estimates the chance of at least two-quarters of negative economic growth in Germany to be very high. That should lead to less demand for crude oil. On the supply side, crude oil exports have returned to normal in Basra (Iraq).
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Shell: Energy Consumption Down, More Renewable Sources Quickly
14Sep By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, Europe

Shell: Energy Consumption Down, More Renewable Sources Quickly

Shell "supports the need for temporary emergency policies and other measures to alleviate the energy crisis in Europe and elsewhere and to protect households and businesses," the company said in a statement. The oil and gas group also calls for "coordinated measures to reduce energy consumption in the coming months" and to encourage "the faster adoption of renewable energy sources", such as wind or solar energy. In doing so, the group is responding to measures announced by the European Commission against high energy prices. This also includes a so-called windfall tax that Brussels intends to impose on large energy companies. Excess profits from the high energy prices will be skimmed off and paid out to citizens and companies, which is the intention. However, the shell did not com...
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Charles Michel in Qatar to Discuss Energy Crisis
7Sep By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, Europe, Middle East, News, Qatar

Charles Michel in Qatar to Discuss Energy Crisis

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, arrived in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday. He is on a diplomatic mission with the European Union to discuss various issues such as the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, AFP reports. The visit is "an important signal of our political will to strengthen ties with Qatar" in several areas such as "energy, economic development and global security", Michel said. He will meet several people during his visit, including Sheikh Tamim ben Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and the Minister of Energy, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi. Gas shortages are looming in Europe this winter as the Russian state gas company recently announced the shutdown of the critical Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Qatar is one of the principal gas producers in t...
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Eurozone Retailers Sold Slightly More in July
5Sep By Alan LorenzNo Comments
Business, Europe, News

Eurozone Retailers Sold Slightly More in July

Retailers in the eurozone sold slightly more goods in July. According to the European statistics bureau Eurostat, the sales volume increased by 0.3 percent compared to a month earlier. In June, sales fell by 1 percent. According to Eurostat, sales of car fuel rose by 0.4 percent, and food and stimulants showed a plus of 0.1 percent. However, non-food sales volume fell by 0.4 percent because consumers buy fewer non-essential goods due to high inflation. Compared to a year ago, retail sales volume in the euro area fell by 0.9 percent.
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