Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Chinese New Year 2025: Year of the Snake
The Snake is a symbol of wisdom, intuition, and transformation in Chinese culture. It represents mystery, elegance, and a deep connection to the unseen. The Wood element adds qualities of growth, stability, and creativity, making 2025 a year focused on self-discovery, steady progress, and innovative thinking.
This year encourages people to trust their instincts, embrace change, and build foundations for future success. It’s a time for reflection and cultivating inner strength.
Celebrations traditionally last for 15 days and are full of vibrant customs and traditions:
Family Reunions: Loved ones gather to enjoy a reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve, symbolizing togetherness.
Red Decorations: Homes are adorned with red lanterns, couplets, and paper cutouts to invite good luck and ward off bad spirits.
Fireworks: Loud firecrackers and dazzling fireworks display light up the sky, symbolizing the driving away of evil spirits.
Giving Red Envelopes: Known as hongbao, these envelopes filled with money are given to children and young adults as a wish for prosperity.
Dragon and Lion Dances: These traditional performances bring good fortune and joy to communities.
Global Celebrations: Cities around the world, from New York to London, Singapore to Sydney, hold vibrant parades, street festivals, and cultural events to honour the Chinese New Year.
As we step into the Year of the Snake, may wisdom guide your decisions, creativity spark your passions, and resilience lead you to success. May the year bring you and your loved ones health, happiness, and prosperity. Happy New Year to all our Chinese friends and partners!
Happy Chinese New Year! 🐍
新年快乐! (Xīnnián kuàilè)
NEW REVOLUTION: Once ChatGPT, now DeepSeek.
Thursday, 16 January 2025
UK and Ukraine Seal a Historic 100-Year Partnership
A Landmark Agreement
On 16 January 2024, the United Kingdom and Ukraine signed a 100-year partnership agreement, set to remain in effect until 2124. This historic pact aims to foster deep and lasting ties across a wide range of areas, including trade, security, defence, science and technology, education, and culture. It marks a new era of bilateral cooperation and mutual trust between the two nations.
Key Details of the Agreement
The groundbreaking deal was signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"Today is truly a historic day. The relationship between Ukraine and the United Kingdom is closer than ever. We have reached a new level—this is more than a strategic partnership. We have signed a 100-year partnership agreement," Zelenskyy stated during the signing ceremony.
What the Agreement Entails
Wednesday, 15 January 2025
Will the Dollar Stay on Top? The Trump Factor and Its Global Impact
After Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, the US dollar has shown steady growth, reaching multi-year highs. This is driven by investors' expectations regarding the newly elected president's economic measures aimed at stimulating growth, increasing inflation, and reducing the likelihood of aggressive interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Notably, the dollar index has risen by almost 10% from the lows of late September.
However, Trump's plans to introduce tariffs and significant tax cuts may have an ambiguous impact on the currency market. These measures could lead to higher inflation, which may force the Federal Reserve to refrain from further rate cuts or even raise them. This could strengthen the dollar further, complicating global trade, increasing costs for non-US companies, and influencing the monetary policies of other countries. Countries with large trade surpluses with the US, such as China, are likely to be particularly affected.
Moreover, there are contradictions in Trump's policy towards the dollar. On the one hand, he seeks to weaken the dollar to support exports and protect jobs; on the other, he wants to maintain its strength to uphold global financial dominance. These contradictions could lead to instability in currency markets and complicate the administration's economic goals.
Thus, while the dollar remains one of the world's most profitable currencies for now, the future policies of Trump's administration could significantly affect its position. Investors should closely monitor developments and adjust their strategies in line with the new economic realities.
Author Andrew Azarov