Business
Red Sea unrest sends freight rates skyrocketing – media
Ocean freight rates are surging as carriers have to reroute vessels due to attacks by Yemen-based Houthi rebels in the Red Sea
Eurozone recession likely – S&P
Business activity in the 20-nation single-currency bloc continued to contract at the end of last year
Grocery chain drops PepsiCo products over ‘unacceptable’ pricing – report
French supermarket chain Carrefour is warning customers it will stop selling PepsiCo products due to price hikes, Reuters has reported
Oil extends gains on supply concerns
Oil prices have increased, stretching yesterday’s sharp gains on growing worries over Middle Eastern supply disruptions
Homeless population surges in rural England – study
The number of destitute persons in rural England has surged by 40% in five years due to the cost-of-living crisis, a report has found
The Russian Iron Lady enters a new decade: What the new year brings for the trailblazing sanctions slayer
The head of the Russian central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, continues to navigate the country through a maze of Western sanctions
EU sanctions Europe’s top diamond producer
Brussels has added Russia’s Alrosa and its CEO Pavel Marinychev to its sanctions blacklist, the EU Council has announced
Gas deliveries to China reach new level – Gazprom
Russia’s Gazprom set a new daily record for gas supplies to China through a mega-pipeline, and has revealed a jump in year-on year exports
Shipping giants divert vessels from Red Sea after missile strike
Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have extended the halt to their ships’ passages through the Red Sea, citing security risks
Germany poised to be bumped into fifth place among world’s biggest economies – report
The EU’s largest economy will be surpassed by India in the coming years, says the Centre for Economics and Business Research
US government debt reaches new milestone
US debt tops $34 trillion for first time, accounting for over one-third of the global total for all federal governments
Chinese company surpasses Tesla
Chinese carmaker BYD has surpassed Tesla as world’s largest seller of electric vehicles in 2023’s fourth quarter
Russia’s rich get richer – Bloomberg
Top Russian billionaires have amassed an additional $50 billion in 2023, according to Bloomberg data
Russian neighbor hikes oil transit levy
Kazakhstan has raised the tariff on transporting Russian oil through its territory by some 20%
Mickey Mouse enters public domain
The Walt Disney Company no longer has exclusive rights for its iconic Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters
Russian oil refinery in EU state raided by authorities
Bulgarian customs officials have inspected Lukoil’s Neftohim refinery to inventory oil stocks in view of a ban on Russian crude