https://nordictimes.com/economy/world-bank-chief-calls-on-rich-countries-to-raise-hundreds-of-billions-for-africa/

Economy

World Bank chief calls on “rich” countries to raise hundreds of billions for Africa

Published 4 May 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Quick Spice/CC BY 2.0

Ajay Banga says Africa can prosper in the future - if it gets help now.

World Bank chief Ajay Banga announces that he expects “rich” countries – mainly in the West – to help raise at least $120 billion for the Bank’s own IDA, which offers concessional and long-term loans to developing countries.

– If Africa develops well, it has much to offer the world.

– There is no doubt that all donor countries have their own challenges and fiscal responsibilities. But I think they all appreciate the impact of contributing to the IDA, Banga said in an interview this week.

Banga expects donor leaders to respond to a call from African leaders to make record contributions to programs that offer loans and credits at significantly lower interest rates than the market average, with the aim of promoting long-term development and growth. The contributions should not be seen as handouts but as investments in the future, he said.

African leaders on Monday called on “rich” countries to collectively raise at least $120 billion at a conference in Japan at the end of the year. That would be a new record for the IDA, which typically offers very long-term loans to African countries and will have disbursed $93 billion by 2021.

Points to vested interest

The target of $120 billion means that donors will have to come up with about $30 billion, since the World Bank itself is willing to lend $3 for every $1 raised.

African countries account for more than half of the 75 countries benefiting from IDA funds. Many of them are heavily indebted and face major problems of natural disasters and poverty – while new loans have proved difficult to obtain on the international market.

Banga argues that there is a vested interest for rich countries to provide large grants, pointing out that China and India used to be recipients of IDA support, but are now significant global economies.

– If Africa develops well, Africa has a lot to offer the world.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The World Bank Group is an association of five international organizations and the parent organization of the World Bank, which is also the collective name for the first two organizations, IBRD and IDA.

The five organizations are

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
International Development Association (IDA)
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

https://nordictimes.com/economy/eu-imports-of-russian-liquefied-natural-gas-reach-record-levels/

Economy

EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas reach record levels

The new cold war

Published 14 January 2025

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Kremlin/CC BY-SA 4.0

Russian LNG tanker Christophe de Margerie.

Despite EU sanctions and stated ambitions to sharply reduce imports of Russian fossil fuels, Europe still imported record amounts of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia in 2024.

According to experts, there is a logical reason for the increase – Russian gas is simply much cheaper than its competitors.

Data from Rystad Energy shows that 17.8 million tons of Russian LNG were delivered to European ports last year, an increase of over 2 million tons compared to the previous year.

Despite a significant drop in piped gas imports from Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine and the terrorist attack on the Nord Stream pipelines in September 2022, the EU continued to purchase record amounts of the country’s LNG. This has been possible as the chilled fuel has been only partially covered by the sanctions imposed by Union member states.

The energy analyst firm released the data shortly after Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas through its territory to the EU. Kiev opted to scrap a five-year transit agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom at the end of 2024, halting the flow of natural gas from Russia to Romania, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Italy and Moldova.

Russian LNG deliveries to the EU not only increased but reached “record levels”, according to Jan-Eric Fahnrich, gas analyst at Rystad Energy. He states that Russia surpassed Qatar as the bloc’s second-largest supplier of LNG in 2024, after the United States.

According to Fahnrich, the EU bought 49.5 billion cubic meters of Russian gas through pipelines last year, and another 24.2 billion cubic meters of LNG, some of which was re-exported to other countries.

“Fairly simple”

Data from the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) show slightly lower figures, but even these reflect an overall trend of sharply increasing Russian LNG exports. According to Crea, EU imports of Russian LNG increased by 14% year-on-year in 2024 to 17.5 million tons and were worth €7.32 billion.

– The reason for the rise is fairly simple. Russian LNG is offered at a discount to alternative suppliers. With no sanctions imposed on the commodity, companies are operating in their own self-interest and buying increasing quantities of gas from the cheapest supplier, explains Crea’s Russia analyst Vaibhav Raghunandan.

The latest estimates significantly outpace recent projections by Bloomberg, which earlier this week said LNG deliveries from Russia to the EU had risen to 15.5 million tons by 2024 compared to 2020, when the EU imported about 10.5 million tons of the fuel.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/economy/swedish-food-prices-soar-up-25-percent-in-three-years/

Economy

Swedish food prices soar – up 25 percent in three years

The destruction of the European economy

Published 9 January 2025

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: iStock/Vladimir Fedorov

The price was increased on almost 36,000 food products last year.

Food prices in Sweden have risen by 25% over the past three years, according to a new report from Matpriskollen, a Swedish consumer price tracking organization. In 2024, the most significant price increases were seen in chocolate, olive oil, coffee, and dairy products.

In 2024, food prices increased by 2.8%. If other grocery products are also included, the increase is 2.1%.

Overall price increases have reached 25% since January 2022, according to the report.

The increases vary between stores, and last year they were most noticeable at City Gross, Ica Kvantum, Hemköp and Ica Supermarket. At the same time, some stores are trying to compete by keeping prices lower.

– Maxi is chasing Willys for low prices and in many cases trying to match prices. The price difference on comparable items is around 4% between Willys and Maxi. Lidl, which also offers low prices, has the same price level on directly comparable items as Willys, says Ulf Mazur, CEO and founder of Matpriskollen in a press release.

36 000 products became more expensive

In 2024, the price of almost 36,000 products increased. The increase was particularly marked for cocoa, which has made chocolate on average 17% more expensive. Vinegar and oils also rose by 12%, with olive oil in particular recording a sharp price increase.

Coffee prices have reached their highest level since 1972, with an 18% increase over the year. Dairy products, meanwhile, have risen by 4.7%.

Organic goods rose by 3.6% over the year, according to Matpriskollen.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/economy/russia-is-using-bitcoin-in-foreign-trade/

Economy

Russia is using bitcoin in foreign trade

Published 25 December 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Nastco/iStock

Russia's finance minister believes that cryptocurrencies will become much more important in the future.

Russian companies have started using bitcoin and other digital currencies for international payments following the entry into force of legislative changes allowing such use to counter the effects of Western sanctions. This is confirmed by the country’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

The extensive sanctions have made it more difficult for Russia to trade not only with Western countries, but also with key partners such as China and Turkey. This is because local banks today are often very cautious or negative about Russia-related transactions as they themselves do not want to face retaliation or investigations from Western regulators.

Earlier this year, Russia therefore allowed the use of cryptocurrencies in foreign trade and has taken several steps to make it legal to mine cryptocurrencies.

– As part of the experimental regime, it is possible to use bitcoins, which we had mined here in Russia, the finance minister explained to the Russia 24 television channel.

Putin believes in bitcoin

– Such transactions are already occurring. We believe they should be expanded and developed further. I am confident this will happen next year, he continued, adding that international payments in digital currencies are the future.

Earlier in December, President Vladimir Putin also accused the US government of undermining the role of the US dollar as a reserve currency by using it for political purposes – forcing many countries to seek other alternatives.

Pointing to bitcoin as one such example and saying that no one in the world can regulate or control the cryptocurrency, the president’s comments suggest that the Russian leader supports the idea of increasing the use of cryptocurrencies.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/economy/economics-writer-on-the-european-electricity-market-a-failed-joke/

Economy

Economics writer on the European electricity market: “A failed joke”

The energy crisis in Europe

Published 12 December 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Montage. Photo: C.Stadler/Bwag/CC BY-SA 4.0, Ivan-balvan/iStock

Due to electricity prices, even a quick shower has become an unaffordable luxury for many.

Yesterday, electricity prices in southern Sweden were at times 18,000% higher than in central Sweden – because there was no wind in Germany.

Economy reporter Andreas Cervenka notes that Swedish electricity customers have been overcharged by more than SEK 300 billion (€26 billion) via their electricity bills, and says the Swedish electricity market is “starting to look like a very failed joke”.

“Anyone living in Malmö or “Electricity Area 4”, which is apparently this nation’s new name, can expect to pay just over SEK 31, including VAT, for a ten-minute shower at five o’clock today,” he writes in the tabloid Aftonbladet, while seeing how electricity customers in Sundsvall only have to pay SEK 0.17 for the same shower.

“That’s a price difference of 184 times or 18,000%. In addition, there are various fees, so it’s actually even more expensive. It’s as if Malmö residents were to pay SEK 3,700 for a liter of milk and Sundsvall residents a twenty. Where is this even going?” he asks.

According to observers and analysts, it’s Germany’s fault, and they are extremely dependent on wind power. When there is no wind there, Sweden is instead drained of electricity via the export cables, and electricity becomes more expensive here at home.

“A proof of poverty”

Cervenka points out that the mechanisms behind electricity prices are very confusing and that the soaring electricity prices have made Swedes sit down and Google the current day’s or hour’s prices before turning on the shower, for example

“Somewhat of a proof of poverty, you might say, for one of the world’s richest countries, which last year actually produced more electricity than we used. The difference was quite large, as much as 28 terawatt-hours, according to the Swedish Energy Agency, which corresponds to 5.6 billion ten-minute showers, for those who are wondering”, he states.

In the past, policymakers have blamed the extreme price differences on a lack of transmission capacity in the electricity grids, and EU directives recently introduced the new “flowbased” model, which was supposed to make more efficient use of the electricity grids.

Analysts and experts were critical of the new model and warned that prices would soar further – and by all accounts, they were right.

“A masterless grid monopoly”

According to electricity market analyst Bengt Ekenstierna, the Swedish electricity market will be even more closely linked to Germany than before, and he is saddened that Swedish politicians seem to have abandoned all attempts to influence other EU countries’ views on the electricity market.

“It is the duty of every politician to put their fist on the table and work to change when applied EU regulations lead to such effects as it has had on the electricity market in Sweden over the past 3 years. Electricity customers have been overcharged by more than SEK 300 billion via their electricity bills”, he states in a newsletter.

“… and that doesn’t even account for the 100 billion in overcharges occurring through skyrocketing and uncontrolled electricity grid fees from a masterless grid monopoly”, he continues.

300 billion is a sum so large that it is difficult to grasp, according to Cervenka, who concludes by announcing that he will take a “long, expensive shower” and try to forget what he just read.

“Someone must be making fun of us”, he concludes.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Polaris of Enlightenment

Polaris of Enlightenment