Business

Jeff Bezos plans to be on Blue Origin’s inaugural New Shepard rocket flight with his brother, Mark, and the winner of the auction for the final seat. Just weeks after he formally steps down as CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos plans to blast off into outer space. The billionaire founder …

The move, if approved, would make El Salvador the first country in the world to formally accept cryptocurrency as legal money. El Salvador may become the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender after President Nayib Bukele announced he would soon propose a bill that could transform the remittance-dependent economy. …

Group of Seven rich nations will seek to overcome long-standing differences on Saturday and strike a landmark deal to close the net on large companies that they say do not pay enough tax. The proposed accord, which could form the basis of a global pact next month, is aimed at …

The Covid-19 pandemic has plunged more than 100 million workers into poverty, the UN has said, warning that employment won’t reach pre-pandemic levels again until 2023 at the earliest. “In 2020, an estimated 8.8% of total working hours were lost – the equivalent of the hours worked in one year …

Much of Africa may have been spared the death toll that COVID-19 brought to other regions, but it now faces recession, growing violence, and higher unemployment because of the pandemic, a report said on Wednesday. “The global economic shutdown has driven Africa into recession for the first time in 30 …

Turkey’s lira plunged to fresh record lows against the dollar after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said interest rates must be lowered in July or August. Erdoğan, who has sacked three central bank governors in less than three years, says that higher interest rates are inflationary, a view that jars with …

The World Bank says Lebanon’s economic collapse is likely to rank among the world’s worst financial crises since the mid-19th century. According to a report published by the World Bank on Tuesday, the economic and financial crisis in Lebanon is likely to be among the top 10 or possibly the …

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent topping $70 and trading at its highest since March, as optimism grew over the fuel demand outlook during the summer driving season of the United States, the world’s top oil consumer. Prices were also boosted after data from China showed that factory activity …

Cryptocurrency Ethereum extended gains to rise more than 8% on Monday to $2,587 but remained 40% below a record high of above $4,300 hit earlier this month. At 1153 GMT, it was trading up 7.4% at $2,565.69. Larger rival Bitcoin also gained in its wake with the world’s biggest and …

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Data showed, on Saturday, that Iraqi oil exports to the United States decreased by 184 thousand BPD in the past week. EIA stated in a report, “Iraq oil exports dropped to about 184 thousand BPD in the second week of November, while US imports also …

The White House on Friday sent Congress a $6 trillion budget plan that would ramp up spending on infrastructure, education, and combating climate change, arguing it makes good fiscal sense to invest now, when the cost of borrowing is cheap, and reduce deficits later. The first comprehensive budget offered by …

Digital tokens took a hit on Friday as a growing list of central bankers expressed concerns about their usefulness. Bitcoin slumped 7% to near $35,500, recalling levels seen in the crypto meltdown last week as traders brace for fresh volatility over the long weekend. Prices across digital tokens took a …

Iraq is building a new oil pier off its southern coast, financed by Japan, that’s expected to boost exports and imports of crude-derived products and increase revenue, officials said Friday. The construction within the port of Khor al-Zubair — Iraq’s main fuel export and import facility — is over 70% …

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil disclosed the final statistics of the exported quantities of crude oil and the revenues of April 2021. The ministry said in a statement that last April’s revenues amounted to 5,549,517,000 dollars, while crude oil exports amounted to 88,398,319 barrels. The average price per barrel amounted …

Amazon is betting that a nearly century-old Hollywood icon can feed an insatiable demand for streaming content. Amazon.com Inc. agreed to buy the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie company for $8.45 billion, a bet that a nearly century-old Hollywood icon can feed an insatiable demand for streaming content. The takeover is Amazon’s biggest …

Oil prices moved a shade higher on Tuesday as rising demand from the approach of the Northern Hemisphere’s summer driving season and lifting of coronavirus restrictions mixed with worries that Iran’s possible return to the market will cause a supply glut. After gaining over 5% in the prior two sessions, …

Nigeria’s economy grew 0.5% in the first quarter, lifted by higher crude production and oil prices, the country’s statistics office said on Sunday, as activities slowly gain momentum after the gradual easing of coronavirus lockdowns. Africa’s largest economy, exited its second recession since 2016 in the fourth quarter, despite a …

Bitcoin dipped 11.33% to $33,250 at 16:00 GMT on Sunday, losing $4,248.98 from its previous close. Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, is down 48% from the year’s high of $64,895.22 on April 14. Ether, the coin linked to the ethereum blockchain network, dropped 16.59 % to $1,915.34 on …

The owner of a container ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March says the canal authority was at fault over its grounding as it disputes the vessel’s detention and a compensation claim, a lawyer representing the owner said on Saturday. The Ever Given, one of the world’s largest container …

New Zealand on Thursday lifted welfare benefit rates and promised billions of dollars more towards addressing rising inequality in its annual budget, as it predicted smaller deficits and faster economic recovery from COVID-19. The budget for the 2021 fiscal year allocated funds towards housing, healthcare, education, and infrastructure, while also …