Energy & Economy

05

Apr

bond, NATO, Russia, SANCTIONS, the United States, Ukraine crisis

U.S. stops Russian bond payments in bid to raise pressure on Moscow

PEJOURNAL - The United States stopped the Russian government on Monday from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600 million from reserves held at American banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of U.S. dollars. Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at U.S. financial institutions were frozen. But the Treasury Department had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar-denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis. On…

Read More

18

Mar

Central Asia, Russia, the United States, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s role in the balance of power with the United States and Russia

BY: Pooya Mirzaei PEJOURNAL - Uzbekistan is located in the heart of Central Asia and borders all four other Central Asian countries. The country, on the other hand, is close to Russia and China and has rich sources of energy, gold, and uranium. These issues have given Tashkent a high position in the regional equations in the center of gravity of Central Asia. Uzbekistan has also tended to move away from Russian domination of the United States in recent years and has developed economic plans for greater cooperation with the West. The intersection of the US strategy to find strategic…

Read More

30

Oct

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, API, Carolyn B Maloney, climate, Exxon Mobil, Joe Biden, oil companies, US Congress, USA

Major US oil companies face grilling by Congress

PEJOURNAL - Top oil executives have appeared before US lawmakers to face allegations they misled the public about climate change. Major producers were quizzed about the impact of the fossil fuels they profit from and their environmental toll. The hearing on Thursday, which Democrats hailed as historic, marked the first time oil bosses had answered questions publicly and under oath. The six-hour session saw some heated exchanges, with firms such as BP and Shell facing tough questions. "Some of us actually have to live the future that you are all setting on fire for us," Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said.…

Read More

02

Oct

BRICS, China, De-Dollarization, Dollar, One Belt One Road, Russia, US

Russia, China taking big step for phasing out Dollar

PEJOURNAL - The dollar has been the world’s most important currency since World War II; it is the most common reserve currency and the most widely used currency for international trade and other transactions worldwide. The removal of the dollar from economic relations among countries and agreements to replace it with national currencies or other currencies in world trade is not an uncommon issue, but in recent years the process has intensified due to the measures of the US administration under Trump and Biden. In fact, political tensions between Washington and other countries have tarnished credibility of the US dollar…

Read More

18

Aug

BRICS, China, European Union, G7, Pooya Mirzaei, Russia, Trumpists

G7, surrender to self-made crises

BY: Pooya Mirzaei PEJOURNAL - The idea of forming the G7 after the global oil crisis in 1973 convinced the powerful leaders of the world's major industrialized nations in 1975 that they needed closer and more coherent cooperation for the economic-security crisis caused by economic and oil shocks. But the failure of the Group of Seven in recent years, given the growth of tangible and intangible threats and the changing and fluid nature of threats, has led to the questioning of its existential philosophy. In the current context, and given the out-of-control crises, especially transnational ones, and the conventional and…

Read More

23

Jul

China, China's central bank, digital Yuan

Will digital Yuan become China’s global trade tool?

PEJOURNAL - China's central bank said it is seeking cross-border payments with the digital yuan and plans to introduce global standards for digital currencies (digital Yuan) to create a common international monetary system.The Central Bank of China said it is strengthening information security and protecting personal data while developing the experimental use of the digital yuan at home. China is leading the global competition for the central bank's virtual currencies and has long tentatively used the digital yuan in the most major cities, including Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai, but has yet to announce any time for its official launch. Many…

Read More

18

May

Global Economy, Russia, SWIFT, US dollar

Russia and SWIFT

PEJOURNAL - A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry recently announced that Russia is preparing to be removed from SWIFT. His remarks came in response to a European Parliament resolution calling for Russia to cut ties with SWIFT if it continues to invade Ukraine. The question now is how feasible is this Russian move? What are its implications for SWIFT and international trade? What are the roots of this decision and how far can the countries involved in SWIFT go with the option of sanctioning and leaving SWIFT? SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, which has…

Read More

21

Apr

Belt and Road Initiative, China, East Asia, Geoeconomics, geopolitics, Iran, Iran-China, mohammad ghaderi, One Belt One Road, Pooya Mirzaei, Strategic Document, West Asia, Xi Jinping

An analytical approach to Iran-China Strategic Document

BY: Mohammad Ghaderi and Pooya Mirzaei PEJOURNAL - The signing of the 25-year roadmap for comprehensive strategic cooperation between Iran and China, as expected, was met with a wave of marginalization based on distortion of reality by various currents inside and outside the country. The beginning of the drafting of this upstream document, on which Iran and China have agreed as a roadmap for the realization of comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries, coincided with the official visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Iran on February 23, 2016. At the time, Tehran and Beijing issued a joint statement…

Read More

15

Apr

China, Deng Xiaoping, Pooya Mirzaei, the United States, Victor Gao, Xi Jinping

From Deng Xiaoping’s China to Xi Jinping’s China

BY: Pooya Mirzaei PEJOURNAL - “When I was growing up in rural China in the 1970s, cars and trucks were scarce. My friends and I preferred to follow these cars on the dirty rural roads and enjoy the game. Today, however, China has become the largest automaker, with twice the capacity of the United States.” says Victor Gao, a famous Chinese translator. “I never imagined that one day a Chinese family would own a car,” Gao told CNN. “I never believed that China would one day become the largest automaker in the world.” “It was beyond my dreams to see…

Read More

29

Mar

China, energy corridor, energy economy, Energy Security, energy transit, Europe, gas, geopolitics, Geostrategic, Iran, Oil, Pakistan, Persian Gulf, Russia, Turkey

Geostrategic scrutiny on the construction of a new energy corridor

BY: Pooya Mirzaei PEJOURNAL - Energy has become a lever of burden and pressure that influence international relations and geopolitics. Thus, energy security has been considered vital and important around the world which brings an emergency construction of a tactical strategic energy corridor or passage as a way to guarantee safety-ness. One of the main elements that facilitate world economic development is energy. The pursuit of the world towards development has created unsteadiness and imbalances in the supply and demand of energy. Therefore, energy resource has a major issue that needed an emergency approach to the nations globally. It has…

Read More