The Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) is in a “critical” position with food and fuel as the Russia-Ukraine war continues to unfold, World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships Mari Pangestu told Al Arabiya TV channel.
“Our forecast team has been estimating that if we see high food and fuel prices last for six months to a year,” she said, “it could negatively impact growth.”
In the global context, “availability and affordability” of food is the UN-backed organization’s concern, according to Pangestu. However, she said that unlike the global food crisis in 2008, the World Bank official clarified that “we actually don’t have a shortage of production.”
“There’s sufficient production of… wheat, rice or other grain products,” she said.
She also said that the food issue goes beyond the Ukraine war.
“Food security and price drops are something that’s not going to go away even after we have resolved the current situation,” Pangestu said.
Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Medi 1 that Russia’s war in Ukraine is affecting food supplies and energy prices around the world.
In Kharkiv, the payment for all utilities provided by the city will be written off from February 24 until the end of the war, said Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
“I know and understand how hard it is for you, how steadfastly you hold on, enduring all the horrors of war. Therefore, all utilities provided by the city will be written off from February 24 until the end of the war,” Terekhov said in a video message published on his Telegram channel.
“At the same time, I am very grateful to all the people who, despite the fighting, continue to pay for housing and communal services. I promise you that with the arrival of peace in Ukraine, your bills will be recalculated,” he added.
The Verkhovna Rada adopted bill No. 7232 as a basis, which provides for the application of a coefficient of 1.5 to the rates of corporate income tax, environmental tax, rent and property tax for companies that refused to leave the Russian market. 309 people’s deputies voted for the corresponding bill in the first reading on Friday, with the required 226 votes, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, deputy head of the committee on finance, tax and customs policy, said on his Telegram channel.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says that Ukraine is waiting for proposals from partners on the country’s existing external debts. “Of course, we expect steps and some proposals from our partners on our country’s existing external debts… I think that in the near future we will find a format for how to ease the debt burden of our country. We have started this work, and I think there will be a result in the coming weeks,” Shmyhal said on the air of the national telethon on Friday afternoon. At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed that Ukraine is a responsible payer for its obligations.
The Verkhovna Rada at a meeting on Friday adopted a law on the full guarantee by the state of deposits of individuals for the period of martial law and three months after its completion. According to the head of the committee Daniil Getmantsev in the Telegram channel, the law also establishes that subsequently the maximum amount of compensation on deposits will be UAH 600,000 compared to UAH 200,000 now.
In addition, the Rada adopted in the first reading bill No. 7233 amending the Tax Code and other laws regarding the collection of a single fee and accounting for denatured ethyl alcohol and chemical and technical products. The bill is aimed at providing favorable conditions for the production of denatured ethyl alcohol, bioethanol, chemical and technical products.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies decline on Friday, with some of the largest digital assets posting their biggest drop in weeks as risk appetite wanes, Barron’s writes.
Bitcoin has lost over 4% in the past 24 hours but is holding above the key technical level of $45,000. The price of the cryptocurrency jumped above this indicator last Sunday and continued to rise at the beginning of the week, rising above $48,000.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, bitcoin began to decline as investors exited risky assets, including cryptocurrencies and equities. By Thursday evening, its price had fallen more than 3%, showing the most significant one-day drop since March 10, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
“Bitcoin’s rally is fading, and the Wall Street session, which was accompanied by risk aversion, could lead to continued pressure on cryptocurrencies,” said Edward Moya, an analyst at Oanda.
The price of the most popular cryptocurrency at the beginning of 2022 was around $46,200 and remains well below the high of $68,990 reached in early November.
Meanwhile, some market participants believe that the fall in prices may be short-term, said Barron’s.
Meanwhile, the price of Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by capitalization, fell more than 3% below $3,300, also showing the largest one-day decline since early March on Thursday.
