World central banks in November, according to preliminary estimates by the World Gold Council (WGC), increased the amount of gold in their foreign exchange reserves by 53.4 tons.
“Looking to the end of 2024, central banks around the world continued to play a leading role in gold demand,” said WGC analyst Krishan Gopaul. – “November was another month of gold purchases, with central banks adding a total of 53 tons to official reserves, according to available data. This continues the trend observed throughout the year: central banks, mostly from emerging markets, remained active buyers of gold, driven by a desire to find a stable and reliable asset in the face of global economic uncertainty.”
The largest buyers of gold in November were Poland (21 tons), Uzbekistan (9 tons), India (8.4 tons), and Kazakhstan (5.1 tons). According to Gopol, for the first time since April, China reported an increase in reserves (plus 5 tons). Other buyers included Jordan (4.1 tons), Turkey (3 tons), the Czech Republic (1.6 tons), Ghana (1.2 tons), Mongolia and Malta (less than a ton).
Singapore was the main seller of gold (5.2 tons). Also in December, the central bank of Finland reported a 10% reduction in its gold reserves to 44 tons, a sale that most likely took place the same month, WGC said.
Registrations of new commercial vehicles (trucks and special vehicles) in 2024 increased by 14% compared to 2023 – up to 12.9 thousand units, Ukrautoprom reported.
According to the association, the Renault brand confidently retained its leadership at the end of the year with 3,271 thousand vehicles registered, Citroen took second place with 1,205 thousand, and MAN took third place with 993 units.
The top ten most registered new trucks and special vehicles in 2024 also include Ford – 844 units; Scania – 761 units; Mercedes-Benz – 625 units; Peugeot – 614 units; Volkswagen – 554 units; Iveco – 545 units; and Hyundai – 474 units.
The Association informs that in December, this market segment grew by 17% by December 2023 and by 24% by November 2024 – up to 1.354 thousand units.
As reported, in 2023, according to Ukravtoprom, registrations of new commercial vehicles in Ukraine increased by 65% by 2022 to 11.3 thousand units.
According to preliminary data, the turnover of the ATB chain in 2024 increased by 15% compared to 2023 to UAH 248.3 billion, said Serhiy Demchenko, Head of Corporate Communications at ATB Corporation.
According to him, in 2024, the chain added 47 new stores, and another 11 retail facilities were reconstructed.
As of the beginning of 2025, the ATB chain has 1257 stores.
According to Mr. Demcheko, last year ATB also launched a new own brand, Day in Day.
In 2024, the company’s investments increased by 25% (by UAH 3 billion) compared to the previous year and amounted to almost UAH 15 billion. Particular attention was paid to energy security, he noted.
“We have equipped ATB stores with generators (DPS): more than 1.2 thousand stores are currently equipped, which is 98% of the entire network. We also equipped our stores with solar power plants (SPP). To date, 40 stores have been equipped with SPPs, and another 180 stores are in the process of being equipped,” he said in a post on Facebook.
ATB Corporation also installed gas turbine equipment at a distribution center in Khmelnytsky region.
The company has also invested UAH 185 million in a project to pool reusable packaging for fruits and vegetables. As noted, the reusable containers are made of safe types of plastic. Today, ATB uses more than 400 thousand boxes and 15 thousand pallets of such containers.
In addition, the chain sent more than 213 tons of used batteries for recycling to Romania and Poland.
Demchenko stated that in 2024, the corporation created more than 3.5 thousand new jobs, and the total number of employees reached 56 thousand. The amount of taxes and fees paid to the budgets of various levels and special funds preliminarily amounted to UAH 30.7 billion, which is 22% more than in 2023.
In addition, ATB Corporation provided charitable assistance to the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the amount of over UAH 2 billion.
US President-elect Donald Trump hopes to end Russia’s war against Ukraine within six months.
“I hope to have six months. I think I hope well before six months. Russia is losing a lot of young people, and so is Ukraine,” Trump said at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, on Tuesday, referring to a timeline for ending the war.
He reiterated that this “war should never have been started.”
“This is a war that should never have happened. I guarantee you, if I were president, this war would never have happened,” Trump stated.
Earlier, Trump promised during his campaign to end Russia’s war against Ukraine in 24 hours.
Energy imports, forecast, billion dollars
Open4Business.com.ua
In 2024, omnichannel retailer Foxtrot opened five new stores and reformed eight outlets, the chain’s press service reports.
According to the report, new stores were opened last year in Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and Stryi (Lviv region). The company also reformed eight stores in Kyiv, Odesa, Bila Tserkva and other cities. As of the end of the year, the chain had 124 stores in 66 cities.
The retailer has also equipped its stores to meet the requirements of inclusiveness and barrier-free access, including the integration of a service for customers with hearing impairments.
Last year, Foxtrot also launched a warehouse at a new location in Kyiv region, expanding its area to 28 thousand square meters.
By the end of 2024, the chain increased its turnover by 13% year-on-year and increased online sales on the Foxtrot.ua platform by 42%. In addition, the retailer has started cooperation with Kasta and market by mono marketplaces, the press service emphasizes.
It is noted that the number of participants in the chain’s loyalty program increased by 1.1 million to 15 million registered customers.
The retailer also continued to support the Ukrainian Defense Forces: by the end of 2024, the chain handed over electronics worth UAH 14.2 million to the military. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Foxtrot has donated UAH 42.5 million worth of gadgets to the army.
“Foxtrot is one of Ukraine’s largest omnichannel retail chains in terms of the number of stores and sales of electronics and home appliances. The company operates 124 stores in 66 cities, including the frontline cities of Kherson, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, an online platform Foxtrot.ua and a mobile application of the same name.
According to Opendatabot, the net revenue of FTD-Retail LLC (Kyiv), which develops the chain, increased by 29% to UAH 12.6 billion in 2023, with net profit of UAH 314.4 million compared to a loss in 2022.
The Foxtrot brand is developed by the Foxtrot group of companies. The co-founders are Valery Makovetsky and Gennady Vykhodtsev.
