Coin Press - News from the crypto market around the clock in six languages

The outbreak of war in the Middle East has sent shockwaves through financial markets, with energy prices soaring and stocks sliding, just a year after US President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught rattled investors.

Only nine oil tankers, cargo and container ships, some of which at times concealed their position, have been recorded crossing the Strait of Hormuz since Monday, according to MarineTraffic data analysed by AFP.

Switzerland announced Friday it wanted to buy 30 US F-35A fighter jets rather than 36 after Washington hiked the price, and said its broader defence set-up needed repurposing to face current threats.

Crude prices surged higher Friday as oil fields in Iraq came under attack and US Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender, while stocks slumped after data showed a surprise drop in jobs in the United States.

The United States and France have promised to secure oil shipping threatened by the Middle East war, but experts warn warship availability and Iran's wide range of weaponry could make this complicated.

Crude prices surged higher Friday as oil fields in Iraq came under attack and US Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender, while stocks slumped after data showed a surprise drop in jobs in the United States.

US retail sales declined by 0.2 percent in January, according to delayed government data released on Friday, missing some analysts' expectations amid persistent concerns that consumption in the world's biggest economy is slowing.

Global energy prices have shot upwards after the US and Israel unleashed war in the Middle East, but just how far those shocks will ripple across the economy remains unclear.

A surge in natural gas prices since the Middle East war erupted has sparked renewed debate about Europe's electricity market, where prices are still linked to gas.

German media group Axel Springer said Friday it had agreed to buy right-wing British newspaper The Telegraph in a surprise move, as the UK government investigates a rival bid.

The United States unexpectedly lost jobs in February while unemployment edged up, government data showed Friday, piling pressure on President Donald Trump's economic agenda as key midterm elections approach.

Iranian drone strikes on Azerbaijan have raised fears that the Middle East war could spill into the Caucasus, as Baku, an ally of Israel, vows to respond.

Hungary will expel seven detained Ukrainians, the government said Friday, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded threats in a row over stalled Russian oil supplies.

Global stock markets fluctuated and oil prices jumped Friday at the end of a volatile week's trading unleashed by the Middle East conflict.

China's leaders are "clearly aware" of challenges facing growth, the head of the country's top economic planning body said on Friday, vowing to boost sluggish domestic consumption.

Asian markets mostly down Friday as the war in the Middle East showed no sign of ending, though there was some reprieve from the surge in oil prices after the United States looked to ease supply concerns.

Asian markets were mixed Friday as the war in the Middle East showed no sign of ending, though there was some reprieve from the surge in oil prices after the United States looked to ease supply concerns.

Australia's online regulator warned porn websites they must block under-18s from Monday under sweeping new restrictions to protect children.

Most stocks in Asia fell Friday as the war in the Middle East showed no sign of ending, though there was some reprieve from the surge in oil prices after the United States looked to ease supply concerns.

Petrobras, Brazil's majority state-owned oil company, said Thursday that its profits nearly tripled last year thanks to record oil and gas output.

Venezuela and the United States are restoring diplomatic ties, the two countries announced Thursday, in a new sign of thawing relations after Washington ousted former president Nicolas Maduro.

The raging Iran war, which has spread across the Middle East and beyond, entered its seventh day Friday after Israeli forces announced a "next phase" in the conflict and bombed Beirut's southern suburbs.

Venezuela has promised safe conditions for foreign mining companies keen to invest in the country, a US official said Thursday, as Washington announced it will restore diplomatic ties with Caracas.

Oil prices pushed higher while US and European stocks dropped on Thursday as investors tracked developments on the sixth day of the Middle East war.

Oil prices pushed higher while stocks dropped on Thursday as investors tracked developments on the sixth day of the Middle East war.

Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison sought Thursday to calm fears over the future of CNN, pledging to protect the news network's editorial independence as his company closes in on a landmark takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Oil prices pushed higher while stocks dropped on Thursday as investors tracked developments on the sixth day of the Middle East war.

Israel issued an unprecedented evacuation warning on Thursday for the entirety of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of Hezbollah, sending residents in the district of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in a panic.

Google opened an AI centre Berlin on Thursday, pledging to step up innovation in the German capital, which boasts a dynamic start-up scene and strong academic and research institutions.

Germany's largest union Thursday accused Tesla of intimidating staff at the US carmaker's factory outside Berlin after it lost a vote to gain control of a body representing workers' interests.

Global stock markets rose and oil prices crept up further on Thursday as the Middle East war entered its sixth day, with energy supplies constrained and investors assessing levels of volatility.

When Vladimir Putin launched Russia's large-scale offensive against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Varvara felt "despair and anger" -- and joined an anti-war protest in central Moscow.