Finance and Economy
Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of OPEC, and other OPEC+ oil producers announced on Sunday (April 2) voluntary cuts to their production to the tune of 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd). While Saudi said it will slash output by 500,000 bpd, close ally UAE said it would cut by 144,000 bpd in addition to […]
... written on Apr 04 2023For the last 100 years since the U.S. dollar replaced the British pound sterling as an international reserve currency, the United States has become the world superpower after the First World War (1914-1918). Coincidentally, the dollar as we know it today was actually first printed in 1914 after the Federal Reserve Bank was created under […]
... written on Apr 02 2023America is very good at getting involved in wars, but is horrible at getting out of them. The military superpower has never failed leaving behind a trail of destruction in every country it involved in wars – Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Laos, Cambodia, Korea, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and the list goes on. The latest war […]
... written on Mar 30 2023Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, popularly known as MBS, lost all his Western friends with a snap of a finger following the brutal assassination of Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. The CIA concluded that MBS had given the order for the killing, where the Saudi Arabian dissident […]
... written on Mar 28 2023From “no limits” partnership announced by China and Russia in February 2022 to the latest pledge to drive something that hasn’t been seen by the civilization in 100 years, the West is very concerned. Thanks to the United States’ strategic errors – and arrogance – Beijing and Moscow are now closer than ever, driven by […]
... written on Mar 24 2023When Mahathir Mohamad was asked in 2003 by Asiaweek how he would like his legacy to be remembered, he said – “Oh, I really don’t care. In 40 years, I’m not going to be around and when you’re dead, people will say nasty things about you. It doesn’t make a difference to me.” That was […]
... written on Mar 22 2023When arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran announced they were restoring diplomatic relations, the world was stunned. The split between the two main sects within Islam, Saudi-led Sunni Islam and Iran-led Shia Islam, goes back some 1,400 years in a dispute over who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad as leader of the Islamic faith. As a […]
... written on Mar 19 2023Operation Lalang (Operasi Lalang in Malay), which means “Operation Weeding” was a major crackdown launched by the Royal Malaysian Police in 1987 to prevent the repeat of racial riots in the country. It was the biggest operation of its kind under Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after racial tensions had reached a dangerous level, forcing the […]
... written on Mar 17 2023When Biden took office, the U.S. inflation was only 1.4% while the gasoline price was US$2.39 per gallon. Today, inflation is at 6.4% and the gas is US$3.47. And that was after pumping trillions of dollars into the financial system to make sure the system did not crash. After bailing out Silicon Valley Bank, the […]
... written on Mar 15 2023Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) said on Wednesday (March 8) that it would like to raise some funds – US$2.2 billion to be precise. Investors as well as venture capitalists were surprised that the bank – 16th biggest in the United States, with US$209 billion in assets – suddenly needed so much money. Within 48 hours, […]
... written on Mar 13 2023