Angola Financial News

United States and its Western allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they joined forces Wednesday to keep supporting the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade in "blood diamonds" that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa. At a U.N. General Assembly meeting, its 193 member nations adopted a resolution by consensus recognizing that the Kimberley Process, which certifies rough diamond exports, «contributes to the prevention of conflicts fueled by diamonds» and helps the Security Council implement sanctions on the trade in conflict diamonds.

Federal Reserve in no rush to start lowering interest rates. Industrial production figures illustrated a euro area economy that’s merely limping along. In Japan, speculation intensified for the first rate hike in more than a decade after the country’s largest labor union secured big wage deals. The world of geopolitics continued to evolve, including Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil refineries, declining foreign investment in China and US concerns about Beijing’s subsidies for shipbuilders.

ANI, that they have established communication with the crew of the merchant vessel, where the 15-plus crew is from Bulgaria, Angola, and Myanmar. As per inputs from the crew, there are around 25 pirates on board the merchant vessel who could have been using it as the mother ship for carrying out piracy in nearby areas.

Godrej Consumer Products along with one of its wholly owned subsidiaries has entered into an agreement for divesting its entire stake in wholly owned subsidiary viz. Godrej East Africa Holdings Limited, Mauritius to HKG Africa Weave Ltd for $3.5 million. Upon the completion of the deal, Godrej East Africa Holdings along with its step down subsidiaries viz.

India has slipped to the 85th spot on the Henley Passport Index. India had gone up to 80th position in January when the rankings for 2024 were unveiled. The Henley Passport Index is updated monthly. Six countries still jointly hold the top position in the 2024 Henley Passport Index, offering their citizens visa-free access to a record-breaking number of destinations. The most powerful passports in the world now allow citizens of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Singapore to travel 194 out of 227 destinations worldwide without requiring a visa, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Four EU members have joined them at the top: Germany, Italy, Spain, and France.

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Inflation in Japan slowed for a second month, giving central bankers reason to wait before ending their negative rate policy. While the data support the view the Bank of Japan officials won’t rush into the first rate hike since 2007 when they meet next week, services prices remained elevated and suggest that an eventual normalizing of policy remains on the table. Inflation expectations declined in Europe, while retail sales and consumer sentiment in the US increased.

₹145.60 apiece on the BSE. Similarly, shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) surged significantly and were locked at five per cent upper circuit to hit a 52-week high mark of ₹461.80 apiece on the BSE. Also Read: ‘Oil markets well supplied’, says IEA as it raises 2024 global demand forecast; projects lower than OPEC Additionally, shares of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) rose around three per cent to hit an intraday high of ₹480.75 against a 52-week high of ₹482.05 apiece on the BSE.

Henley Passport Index, released on Tuesday, India's passport has ascended to the 80th position worldwide. This elevated ranking now affords Indian citizens the privilege of unhindered exploration across 62 countries, alleviating the burden of intricate visa application procedures. The assessment of this ranking aligns with visa regulations effective as of January 11, as sourced from data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). A cornerstone in displaying, organizing, and ranking global passports, the Henley Passport Index, reveals six countries — France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain — jointly holding the prestigious title of the world's most potent visa. Citizens from these nations enjoy the unprecedented freedom to traverse over 194 countries without dealing with pesky visa requirements. On the flip side, Afghanistan sits at the bottom rung of the list, granting its passport holders access to a mere 28 countries without a visa. Syria closely follows with visa-free entry to 29 destinations, trailed by Iraq with 31, and Pakistan with 34. Indian passport bearers can now revel in the liberty of visiting 62 countries, including Oman and Qatar, without the encumbrance of a visa. These destinations extend either visa-free entry or the convenience of visa-on-arrival for Indian travelers, as elucidated by the Henley Passport Index 2024. Here is the full list of destinations Indians can visit without getting a visa before travel:

By Arathy Somasekhar

Investing.com-- Oil prices steadied in Asian trade on Tuesday after falling sharply at the beginning of the week, as sharp price cuts on oil sales by Saudi Arabia ramped up concerns over sluggish demand.

Investing.com-- Oil prices kept to a tight range in holiday-thinned Asian trade on Tuesday, as markets weighed the prospect of continued supply disruptions in the Red Sea against fears of higher production in 2024. 

₹6,164 per bbl, having swung between ₹6,126 and ₹6,247 per bbl during the session, against a previous close of ₹6,163 per barrel. -Crude is headed for its first annual drop since 2020 as surging production from the US and elsewhere counters efforts by the OPEC cartel to support prices through output cuts. The outlook for demand is also fragile, with the International Energy Agency forecasting that growth will slow sharply next year.

Throttling back on oil production hasn’t helped OPEC and its allies to push up crude prices lately. At least four times in the past 15 months, members of the alliance known as OPEC+ have slashed oil output, only for prices to soon retreat anyway. A surge near $100 a barrel petered out earlier this year, and crude futures tumbled 10% in the two weeks after the coalition announced a roughly 5% reduction on Nov.

decision to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could open the way for Beijing to increase investment in the country's oil and other sectors, as part of a deepening of decades-old ties. Angola said on Thursday it was leaving OPEC, effective from Jan. 1, following a row with the producer group over the size of its output quota.

By Scott DiSavino

Angola says it’s leaving the OPEC oil producers cartel, coming after it battled with the group over lower production quotas this year

Global markets: US stocks opened higher on Thursday, following updated economic growth figures for the third quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 143.32 points, or 0.39%, at the open to 37,225.32. The S&P 500 opened higher by 25.94 points, or 0.55%, at 4,724.29.

Fifty oil companies are pledging to reach near-zero methane emissions.

OPEC+ began its meeting on Thursday, seeking to resolve a deadlock on oil quotas and consider further production cuts to shore up flagging crude prices.

Quiver Quantitative — The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) and its allies, led by Russia, are deliberating new oil production cuts, potentially reducing output by as much as 1 million barrels a day. This significant proposal comes amidst the ongoing Middle East conflict and could lead to a surge in oil prices. Initially scheduled for last week, the OPEC meeting was postponed due to disagreements over production quotas and is now set to occur virtually. While a consensus on further cuts remains uncertain, with some members opposing the reduction, Saudi Arabia has expressed strong support for the measure.