BITCOIN

Cryptocurrency may be bad for investors but it can be useful in international settlements, according to a top government official in Moscow. Russian authorities intend to set up a special committee that would issue permits to operators employing crypto in foreign trade transactions, he indicated. Russia Plans to ‘Experiment’ With Cross-Border Crypto Payments Amid Sanctions Crypto assets can be used in certain scenarios, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev commented during an economic forum in Moscow. Speaking at the “Banks. Transformation. Economy. 2.0” conference, he was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying: Of course, crypto is generally evil. I believe that people who invest their savings there take a very big risk … But there may be individual situations in which crypto can be used. Moiseev made it clear he was referring to Russian foreign trade activities, which are currently restricted by Western sanctions. He also reminded that a draft law designed

BRICS nations can lead efforts to abandon the U.S. dollar in international settlements, according to President Bashar Assad of Syria. At a meeting with China’s top diplomat for the region, the leader of the war-torn Middle Eastern country called for using the Chinese yuan for cross-border trade. Economic Clash With West Requires Discarding Dollar, BRICS Leadership, Syrian President Says Confrontation with the United States and the West in general has been taking place mainly in the economic field and that makes it increasingly necessary to ditch the U.S. dollar as a currency for global transactions, President Bashar Assad of Syria was quoted as saying by Sana, the Syrian state-controlled news agency. Assad emphasized that the BRICS bloc, through the adoption of the Chinese yuan for trade transactions between nations, can play a leading role in that regard. He made the comments during a meeting with the Chinese government’s Special Envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, whom he recei

After the most recent increase in the federal funds rate, the U.S. Federal Reserve is set to raise the lending rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.25% in three days, according to expectations. A recent poll of 105 economists revealed that 94 of them predict a 25bps rate hike will occur during the May 2-3 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. While economists are anticipating a rate hike in May, they anticipate that it will be the final one in 2023. The majority of polled economists believe that the Fed will maintain the rate at 5.25% for the remainder of the year. Report Says Next Phase of the Tightening Cycle Is Holding Benchmark Rate at Current Levels Several reports and surveys indicate that market observers believe the U.S. central bank will increase the benchmark interest rate by 25bps at the FOMC meeting this week. The FOMC meeting is scheduled to take place on May 2-3 and according to the CME Group Fedwatch tool, 83.9% suspect a 25bps rate hike will come to fruition.