Money Talks

The latest round of sanctions being imposed by the US and its allies, on Russia over its attack on Ukraine. They've accused Moscow of committing war crimes, including the indiscriminate killing of civilians in Bucha and other parts of the country. And the new punitive measures will hit close to home for President Vladimir Putin. Washington is also restricting Russia's ability to send and receive funds overseas. It's frozen more than $600M in foreign currency reserves held in US bank accounts.

For more on the story, economist Ali Khizar joined us from Lahore.

#RussiaAttacksUkraine #RussiaSanctions #RussiaFrozenAssets

Mounting international restrictions on Russia are slamming the brakes on its economy, but they are also taking a toll on global trade, stifling supplies of food grains, fuel, fertiliser and other products. As commodity prices spiral higher, many countries are grappling with rising inflation and the economic crisis is leading to political upheaval. Mobin Nasir reports.

For more on the story, economist Ali Khizar joined us from Lahore.

#Inflation #FoodPrices #FuelPrices

This month, the southern Turkish city of Hatay opened its biggest exhibition, Expo '21, which was post-poned due to the pandemic. With its rich history and culture, this gem of the Mediterranean coast hopes to attract a record number of tourists this year. Tayyibe Aydin reports.

#TürkiyeTourism #HatayCulture #HatayExpo

The crisis in Ukraine is forcing policymakers around the world to make some very tough decisions. Among them are the people running the US Federal Reserve. The Fed is ending its monetary stimulus. It's already started hiking interest rates, and according to a senior official this week, there's more to come. The bank is also reversing its quantitative easing programme, by selling off government bonds and mortgages, effectively sucking money out of the economy. The goal is to cool inflation, but, virtually every time the Fed has been this aggressive in the past, it's triggered a recession.

#USInflation #FederalReserve #InterestRates

Rising prices at the pump are a bane for commuters, but for electric vehicle makers, it’s driving a boom in demand. Tesla, BMW, GM and other automakers have all reported record EV sales in the first quarter of this year and many of them are now developing more economic models to tap into the mass market.

#ElectricVehicles #EVMarket #Tesla

Global stocks are mostly flat, reflecting anxiety over a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 in China. The financial hub Shanghai reported around 21,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday. Investors worry that will force the government to extend an ongoing lockdown in the city of more than 25M people. The Chinese economy is already on track to grow at its slowest pace in decades this year. That's partly because Beijing has refused to stray from its zero-COVID strategy.

AvaTrade chief market analyst, Naeem Aslam joined us from London and told us how lockdown in Shanghai could affect Chinese economy as well as global semiconductor supply.

#China #ShanghaiLockdown #PandemicOutbreak

Oil prices are rising again despite a coordinated move by major economies to increase the supply of crude in the market. The International Energy Agency says its members are releasing a combined 60M barrels of crude from their stockpiles. It's on top of the 180M barrels that the US is taking out of storage over the next six months. Their decision is meant to bring down prices, as sanctions mount on Russia, the world's second-biggest exporter. But markets were not impressed. The international crude benchmark Brent has risen around 2%, with oil now trading at around $102 a barrel.

David Madden is a market analyst at Equiti Capital and he joined us from London.

#OilReserves #OilPrices #CrudeSupply

The US dollar is trading near a two-year high against other major currencies like the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen. That follows comments by a senior US Federal Reserve official hinting at the more aggressive withdrawal of support for the world's largest economy. Governor Lael Brainard, who sits on the central bank's policy making body, says quicker action is needed to keep inflation in check. The Fed is expected to raise borrowing costs by more than usual. It's also preparing to rapidly sell off government bonds and other securities it's accumulated over the past two years.

Craig Erlam is a senior market analyst at OANDA. He says aggressive monetary policy could lead a recession in the world's largest economy.

#FederalReserve #USDollar #InterestRates

Oil prices are climbing as the EU and the US call for another set of tough sanctions on Russia, one of the world's largest fuel exporters. French President Emmanuel Macron is the latest world leader to advocate for a ban on Russian crude and coal shipments. Meanwhile, Washington has stopped American banks from processing Russian debt payments using money held in the US. That means bond holders are at risk of losing some 600 million dollars.

We spoke to Danni Hewson, a financial analyst at AJ Bell in the UK. She tells how Russia is coping with Western-led sanctions.

#RussiaSanctions #RussiaDebtPayments #OilPrices

EU leaders are considering further sanctions on Moscow, over alleged war crimes in Bucha. Among the possible restrictions is the creation of a temporary holding account where payments for Russian energy shipments may be frozen until troops withdraw from Ukraine. Germany has so far resisted calls to cut off the energy trade with Moscow, but officials there are now signaling they're ready to change course. Meanwhile, oil prices fell over the weekend as the US began releasing supplies from its strategic reserves.

Exinity Group chief market analyst, Han Tan joined us from Abu Dhabi to discuss details in energy market.

#RussiaSanctions #EuropeEnergy #OilReserves