The volume of global trade following the COVID-19 pandemic crisis recovered to a record level in the first quarter of 2021, up 10% year-on-year, according to a UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report released on Wednesday. "World trade volume recovered from the COVID-19 crisis to a record high in the first quarter of 2021, up 10% year-on-year and 4% quarter-on-quarter," the report...

The average price of residential property in Britain rose 10.2% in March compared to the same period last year, amounting to £256,000 ($363,000). These figures were released on Wednesday by Britain's National Office of Statistics (ONS). This is the biggest increase in prices since August 2007. Prices rose the most in Wales (11%) and Scotland (10.6%), prices in England rose 10.2%, in Northern...

Portfolio managers of major investment funds have cited high inflation as a key risk with unpredictable consequences for the global economy. However, the Fed or the ECB have not yet started to tighten monetary policy, which is keeping investors' worries in check. Managers continue to actively invest in equities, favouring "value companies" that will be the beneficiaries of the ongoing global...

More than half of the world's single-use plastic waste is produced by just 20 large companies. ExxonMobil produces the most single-use plastic waste - 5.9 million metric tonnes (in 2019). That's the data in a report by the Minderoo Foundation, an Australian charity dedicated to global research, including environmental issues. The Minderoo Foundation's ranking of Plastic Waste Makers includes...

A sharp rise in inflation in the US has led to a surge in interest in protective assets, especially gold. Total gold ETF assets surpassed 100m ounces by the end of the week, returning to early April levels. Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR) data shows strong growth in international investors' demand for gold. Based on Bank of America's report (incorporating EPFR data), total gold fund...

According to the Financial Times (FT), citing Goldman Sachs calculations, in the first four months of the year US companies announced a total of $484bn to buy back their shares from the market. This is a record for this period in the last 20 years. Goldman Sachs expects that by the end of the current year the volume of buybacks in the USA will grow by 35% compared to 2020. Analysts attribute this...

Oil demand in 2021 will increase to 96.4 million barrels per day (bpd), which is 5.4 million bpd more than in 2020, the previous growth estimate was reduced by 270 thousand bpd, according to the International Energy Agency report. The adjustments take into account changes in demand in the first quarter - it was 320 kbpd lower in Europe and 515 kbpd lower in North America - and expectations of a...

The International Energy Agency (IEA), responsible for the energy security of developed energy-importing countries, has unveiled its first study on the transition to renewable energy. The notable environmental, social and geopolitical risks associated with a surge in demand for the minerals needed for the energy transition were discussed at the UN back in the late twentieth century - but the IEA...

Global food prices continue to rise, reaching a six-year high in April, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Global food prices hit a six-year high in April as the FAO reported the average food price index was 120.9 points, up 30.8% from April 2020 and 1.7% from March 2021. The index has risen to its highest level since May 2014 but has not yet hit an all-time high: in...