World & Politics
Fed chief admits it's time to stop calling inflation temporary - 12/01/2021
Fed chief Jerome Powell has admitted that it is time to stop calling inflation temporary. "The word 'temporary' has different meanings to different people, for many it has the meaning of 'fleeting' and we use it in the sense that it will not leave a permanent mark in the form of higher inflation. I think now is probably a good time to drop that word and start explaining more clearly what...
G7 countries to jointly study Omicron strain - 11/30/2021
Health ministers of the G7 countries (Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the United States, France, and Japan) have decided to collaborate on a research of the novel omicron coronavirus strain. It's thought to be far more harmful and contagious than the "delta" variety, which is now the most common. "According to preliminary evaluations, the world community is facing the possibility of a...
WHO warns of new COVID-19 variant with 'extremely high' number of mutations - 11/26/2021
WHO has convened a meeting to discuss a new variant of the coronavirus that has already been identified in three countries. According to virologists, the strain raises serious concerns because it has an "extremely high" number of mutations and is more resistant to antibodies. The World Health Organization (WHO) has held a meeting to discuss a new variant of the coronavirus infection that is...
US, China agree on long-term gas supplies - 11/25/2021
According to a press statement from Cheniere Energy Inc. in the United States, the business has struck a long-term agreement to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China's Foran Energy Group. According to the press release, "Cheniere Energy today announced that its subsidiary, Cheniere Marketing International, LLP, has entered into a binding 20-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchase and sale...
Japan to invest in building semiconductor plants in the country - 11/24/2021
The Japanese government intends to allocate about 600 billion yen (about $5.2 billion) as part of the supplementary budget package for the current fiscal year 2021 to support the construction of semiconductor manufacturing plants in the country. Specifically, 400 billion ($3.5 billion) will go to subsidize the construction of a plant by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC). The remaining...
US authorities sign a deal to buy Pfizer's COVID-19 pills for 10 million people - 11/19/2021
According to US President Joe Biden, his administration has already struck a deal with Pfizer to buy COVID-19 tablets. "Today, I'm reporting that we've ordered 10 million courses of COVID-19 tablets from Pfizer. Our most essential strategy remains vaccination, but this new drug has the potential to drastically cut hospitalizations and fatalities, as well as speed up our recovery from the epidemic...
WHO: 99% of new cases of COVID-19 fall on the delta strain - 11/17/2021
The WHO estimates that 99% of global COVID-19 infections in the past 60 days have occurred in the delta variant of the coronavirus. The number of infections over the world has been rising for the past four consecutive weeks. Of the 900 000 cases of coronavirus infections reported worldwide over the past 60 days, 99% came from the strain codenamed delta. This was reported by World Health...
WHO: High vaccination rates in Europe cannot stop COVID-19 - 11/16/2021
A new wave of COVID-19 is sweeping Europe, forcing authorities in the region to take tough action. Unvaccinated residents in Austria, for example, have been allowed to leave their homes only in exceptional cases since Monday, and German authorities are preparing to mobilise up to 12,000 troops to help the medics. The Christmas holidays in Europe are likely to be restricted. Among European...
IMF to offer concessional loans to middle-income countries - 11/16/2021
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plans to develop a concessional lending facility for low- and middle-income countries against the backdrop of climate change. This will particularly affect island states. The size of the fund will be $30-50 billion. "In light of the climate crisis, we intend to develop a low-interest long-term lending instrument, with loans to be extended not only to...
EC: EU could double steel shipments to the US after duties are lifted - 11/12/2021
The European Union now has an opportunity to roughly double steel product shipments to the United States after the decision to lift the duty, said Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the European Commission (EC), at a press conference. The U.S. announced in late October that it would no longer apply duties from the so-called "Section 232" on a certain amount of steel and aluminum...