The European Union should set up a system that would allow Brussels to be independent in its financial operations from Washington, according to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas. It is indispensable that we strengthen European autonomy by creating payment channels that are independent of the United States, a European Monetary Fund and an independent SWIFT system,” [...]

Qatar and Turkey have inked a currency swap agreement to boost liquidity and provide financial stability, Qatar’s central bank said, days after Doha pledged $15 billion of direct investment into Turkish markets. The deal, which aims to boost cooperation between the countries, was clinched on Friday. The agreement will set up a two-way currency exchange line and facilitate exchange of trade betwe [...]

Ankara has given a green light to Moscow’s proposal to switch to ruble-lira trade between the countries. Turkey also has similar plans for trade with China and other countries. “We are discussing the transition to national currencies not only with Russia and China, but also with other countries. It is not just Turkey's request. [...]

Italy’s ruling Northern League party predicts the dismantling of the euro unless the European Central Bank (ECB) offers a guarantee to reduce yield spreads in the eurozone. "The situation can’t be resolved and it is going to explode,” the economics spokesman of Italy’s ruling Northern League party, Claudio Borghi, told Reuters. [...]

Deutsche Bank’s problems in the US continue as this time around, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has found the bank’s subsidiaries were likely involved in questionable trading schemes over a period of at least five years. Kristian Rouz — The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has moved to slap a hefty fine on Deutsche Bank as a settlement payment in a probe into  [...]

RT’s Keiser Report remembers the media hysteria of 2014, when many Western news outlets claimed Russia wouldn't survive the introduction of international sanctions and the ruble crisis that followed. Max and Stacy also discuss a claim by the IMF’s former representative in Russia that there “will never be a debt crisis”with the country’s current economic team in charge, which is the wor [...]

Switzerland’s financial regulator has accused Rothschild Bank AG and its trust subsidiary of violating anti-money laundering law in relation to 1MDB, the troubled Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. According to the regulator, both Rothschild Bank AG and Rothschild Trust AG failed to check where assets from a client came from. [...]

There’s only 10 countries that will sell you citizenship. Here’s what it costs. Cheaper than a Gulfstream, nimbler than a superyacht, a second passport—or a third or fourth—has become another trophy for the ultra-wealthy. Even self-styled citizens of the world, it seems, need a Plan B. Plus, that gold Maltese coat of arms looks classy. One must keep up. [...]

Investor confidence in Europe has surged in 2017 after three years of decline. Europe has attracted a record level of foreign direct investment (FDI), with Russia making the top five list, according to data from EY. The firm’s report showed that, despite a slowing growth in Europe, investor sentiment is more buoyant with 50 percent of more than 500 investors highlighting confidence. [...]

The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) commonly factors in all kinds of risks when allocating the country's reserves, said the CBR chief, commenting on a major sell-off of US Treasury bonds. “We pursue the policy of safe and diversified holdings,” CBR Governor Elvira Nabiullina said while answering questions before Russia's lower house of parliament. [...]

The global economy is facing a threat of a spiraling protectionist measures that can lead to a devastating crisis, Vladimir Putin warned. Nations must find a way to prevent this and establish rules on how the economy should work. The Russian president spoke out against the growing trend of using unilateral restrictions to achieve economic advantage, as he addressed guests of the St. Petersburg Int [...]

About 40 leaders of the world's largest investment funds with total assets of over $13.5 trillion will participate in SPIEF 2018. They will discuss with President Putin the “unjustified” assumptions about isolating Russia. According to the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, about 40 leaders of the world's largest investment funds from 20 countries with total assets of [...]

The US dollar is becoming less appealing for investors as American debt continues to soar and the greenback is printed to cover it, investor Jim Rogers said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The American currency will lose the status of main reserve currency much sooner than 2030, Rogers said at the Valdai Club’s discussion session, held as part of SPIEF. [...]

Settlements in US currency could be dropped by Russia in favor of the euro if the EU takes a stand against the latest US sanctions on Moscow, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “As we see, restrictions imposed by the American partners are of an extraterritorial nature. The possibility of switching from the US dollar to the euro in settlements [...]

As more countries pay for oil in yuan, the standing of the Chinese currency in global finance has grown, an analyst tells RT. However, its future path won’t be completely smooth, he warns. “If people started to pay for oil in yuan, central banks would need to hold reserves in yuan, leading to a massive increase in the global demand for yuan, reducing the cost of financing the Chinese economy,� [...]

US national debt tops $21 trillion for first time ever About a year ago, US President Donald Trump pledged to eliminate the national debt “over a period of eight years.” Treasury data now shows the debt has surpassed the $21 trillion mark this week for the first time in history. Last month Trump signed a suspension on the federal debt limit, allowing the government to borrow an unlimited am [...]

The real goal behind recent US sanctions is to isolate Russia economically from Europe and Asia, according to an analyst interviewed by RT. “The most obvious reason for sanctions is to drive a wedge into the relationship between Russia and the European Union, between Russia and China, etc.” said TeleTradeBel analyst Mikhail Grachev. [...]

Capital investment in 24 of the EU’s 28 member states has fallen dramatically over the past ten years, according to Eurostat. Countries in Europe’s east and south experienced the biggest drops in investment after the 2008 crisis. Investment decreased on average by 2.3 percent, falling to 20.1 percent of GDP last year. It stood at 22.4 percent from 2007 to 2017 period. [...]

In this special double header episode of the Keiser Report, Max and Stacy compare the real data and future for fracking using actual balance sheet results and investor complaints on the absence of any profits as of yet. From Bloomberg and CNBC, headlines warn that fossil fuels face squeeze as the cost of renewables plunge and just as the surge in natural gas supply from fracking absolutely obliter [...]

Washington’s renewed sanctions on Tehran supports China’s newly established oil futures, analysts say. The sanctions can make the yuan a more preferable currency than the dollar on the oil market. Since their launch in May, the interest in the renminbi-backed oil contracts has steadily surged. Traded daily volumes hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, and the share of yuan contracts in glo [...]

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max and Stacy discuss the ‘turds’ that are ‘harvesting baby brains’ in the cryptocurrency markets, according to Charlie Munger, the 94-year-old billionaire, partner of Warren Buffett. Max and Stacy note that bitcoin was a direct response to the financial system created by the likes of Buffett and Munger, so it makes sense that they would react more and [...]

Russia has decided not to participate in the increase in the World Bank's lending capacity and with good reason, analysts told Sputnik, suggesting that it doesn't seem logical for Moscow to fund the institution amid the US-led sanctions spree aimed against Russia. The World Bank's assets are being directed to fund reforms beneficial to transnational corporations, including those from the US, Va [...]