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The U.S. dollar sank to a four-week low against other major currencies on Thursday as Treasury yields pulled back from last month’s surge, with investors increasingly convinced the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low for some time. The Russian rouble sank more than 1% to 76.65 per dollar on reports the U.S. will announce sanctions on Russia as soon as Thursday for alleged election interference and malicious cyber activity. The dollar index, which tracks the it against six other currencies, dipped to its lowest since March 18 at 91.535 ...

Euro zone citizens expect the European Central Bank’s proposed digital euro to be private, safe and cheap, an ECB survey showed on Wednesday. The ECB is working on creating an electronic form of cash to complement banknotes and coins in a bid to stem competition from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Tether and Facebook’s proposed Diem. An ECB poll showed that privacy when making payments, a key feature of cash that some fear will get lost when switching to an electronic means of payment, was the number one priority for both ...

Asia’s economy is expected to grow by 7.6 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Tuesday, while warning of “huge uncertainty” surrounding the projections. “The pandemic has resulted in unprecedented output losses in the Asia-Pacific region,” Jonathan D. Ostry, acting director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, said during a virtual news conference. The pandemic is receding in some countries, elsewhere, “second or third waves of infections are raging,” notably in India and some of the ASEAN economies, he noted, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian ...

The struggles of policymakers in North America and Europe to comprehend the transformation of the world economy and its shift to Asia in recent decades have led to a distorted picture of global change. Most of the analysis published in Europe and North America treats Asia as a relatively small, albeit fast-growing, component of a global system dominated by the countries around the North Atlantic. But if that characterisation were true in 1990, it is no longer an accurate description of the distribution of world economic activity in 2021, and ...

Although COVID-19 plunged the global economy into the worst recession since World War II, clear signs of recovery have emerged. China began leading the way by pocketing positive growth in 2020 after bringing the epidemic under control. The U.S. and European countries initiated a bid for economic rebound via aggressive stimulus measures. According to the forecasts of leading financial institutions, the pandemic’s impact on the world economy may not be as severe as expected. Nevertheless, in the long run, both COVID-19 and the subsequent stimulus and relief policies adopted may ...

The global economy could grow half a percentage point faster next year if households spend some of the huge savings they built up during the coronavirus pandemic, a French economic think-tank said. With businesses such as restaurants, cinemas and hotels still closed in many countries, many households in developed countries have accumulated far greater savings than normal. Whether households start spending these savings or sit on them in anticipation of financial challenges ahead is one of the biggest puzzles facing economists and policymakers as they try to figure out how ...

Women now hold many of the jobs controlling the world’s largest economy – and they’re trying to fix it. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and trade czar Katherine Tai hold top jobs in U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration and many of his economic advisers also are women, as are nearly 48% of his confirmed cabinet-level officials. This sea change may already be affecting economic policy – a new $2.3 trillion spending plan introduced by Biden last week includes $400 billion to fund the “care economy,” supporting home- ...

Post-Brexit trade rules mean prosecco supplier Serena Wines 1881 must store bottles destined for Britain on costlier, fumigated pallets in their own corner of its warehouse in the northeast Italian town of Conegliano. The new shipment requirement is one example of the extra cost and complexity that firms across continental Europe face serving British customers since Jan. 1, adding to disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to drive UK-EU trade volumes lower. “These first months have been hectic, hellish for everyone,” said export manager Nicola Piovesana. “Delivery times are now longer, ...

NASDAQ-Adv: 2,345 Dec: 932 NYSE-Adv: 2,998 Dec: 932(Source: Nasdaq)

Oil prices surged almost 5% on Wednesday, after a report from the International Energy Agency, followed by U.S. inventory data boosted optimism about returning demand after the coronavirus lockdowns last year crushed fuel consumption. Brent crude futures rose $2.91, or 4.6%, to settle at $66.58 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended $2.97, or 4.9%, higher at $63.15 a barrel. U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, exceeding analysts’ forecasts for a 2.9 million-barrel drop. East Coast crude stocks hit ...

ABS has added its solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) experience to an industry-leading joint development project (JDP) to accelerate development of the technology with Alfa Laval, DTU Energy, Haldor Topsoe, Svitzer and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. Funded by a grant from Danish EUDP (Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program), the partners will pursue a high-efficiency solution with the scalability to support marine industry decarbonization. ABS, a founding member of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, will focus on safety, utilizing its industry-leading ...

The technology group Wärtsilä has signed an Optimised Maintenance agreement with the Japanese shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI) to evaluate Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight predictive maintenance service as part of a pilot programme. The agreement was signed in January 2021 and, the programme could lead to NYK adopting the solution throughout its entire fleet. The evaluation will be carried out on two LNG Carrier vessels, the ‘Marvel Falcon’ and the ‘LNG Sakura’. Both vessels operate with Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines. The programme will evaluate the analytics ...

Optimarin has announced its best ever start to a year, with the ballast water treatment specialist signing a series of fleet contracts, frame agreements and system orders to continue the positive trend recorded in Q4 2020. The latest contract is a fleet agreement for 30 vessels, with an as yet unnamed owner, which follows on from a 40-ship exclusive frame agreement signed in January, and the extension of an existing fleet contract. A series of other orders, many from new customers, has pushed sales figures past 100 units for 2021 ...

During Stress Awareness Month[i] Hanseaticsoft is recommending that shipping companies take a fresh approach to mental wellbeing and make use of technology to support the mental health of seafarers. This follows research from Mental Health Support Solutions (MHSS)[ii] which showed a rise in mental health problems among seafarers in a three-month period to the end of February. The report showed heightened anxiety from seafarers onboard, with burnout and depression being reported. MHSS also saw an increase in requests for counselling support, and this was highest during December, which includes Christmas ...

Applied Satellite Technology (AST), a leading provider of maritime satellite communications solutions, is pleased to announce its partnership with The Liberian Registry as the first authorised service provider of the Iridium Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) for Liberian flagged vessels. The Liberian Registry has earned international respect for its dedication to flagging the world’s safest and most secure vessels. The Registry has experienced significant growth throughout its history and is recognised as the world’s fastest growing major open registry, with 12% of the world’s ocean-going fleet and over ...