The headlines followed by the global financial media last night and this morning are as follows:

Putin: supply of natural gas to European countries will be settled in rubles

On the 23rd local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided that the supply of natural gas to European countries would be settled in rubles.

Putin asked the Russian central bank and government to draw up relevant norms for settlement of rubles with European countries within a week. He also said that Russia would establish a clear and transparent payment system for foreign consumers, which would include allowing foreign consumers to buy Russian rubles in Russia's domestic foreign exchange market.

On the same day, Vorojin, chairman of the Russian State Duma, said that refusing to use US dollars and euros to settle natural gas transactions was a historic decision, and Russia's financial and economic sovereignty would be out of the question without doing so.

Fed Daley: may need to raise interest rates by 50 basis points in May

Daley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said she believes anything is possible at the next policy meeting in May, depending on economic data in the coming weeks, the decision to raise interest rates by 50 basis points and shrink the balance sheet may be reasonable.

"if we want to move 50 basis points, then we will act," Daley said in an interview on Wednesday. She said she may also support a 25 basis point increase in interest rates.

Investors' expectations of a 50 basis point rate hike after the May 3-4 meeting have risen since the Fed is prepared to raise interest rates by 50 basis points if necessary to contain price pressures, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Monday.

The Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points last week for the first time since 2018. It is expected to raise rates by another six times this year to 1.9 per cent and to 2.8 per cent by the end of 2023.

Russia will resume some stock trading to put an end to the record suspension of the stock market

Russia will restart trading in some stocks, ending the country's record long suspension of trading. The country's previous suspension was intended to protect domestic investors from severe sanctions over the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Moscow Stock Exchange will resume trading in 33 shares, including Gazprom and Sberbank, from 9:50 to 2 p.m. local time on March 24, the central bank said in a statement. The central bank also pointed out that the market will prohibit short selling. Local stock trading in Russia has been suspended since February 28, setting a record for the longest suspension in the country's modern history.

Even if short selling is banned, local traders and strategists are ready for the sell-off. On the day of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Moscow Stock Exchange Russia Index (MOEX Russia Index) plunged 45%, the biggest drop on record. The rouble is the world's worst-performing currency this year, although it has risen slightly over the past week as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine continue.

Powell: the digital dollar must have four characteristics. It has not been decided whether to create it or not.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pointed out that the hypothetical dollar digital currency must have four characteristics, adding that no final decision has been made on whether to create such a digital currency.

Powell said that the central bank's digital currency needs to ensure the privacy of users; it also needs to be "verifiable", similar to identifying Bank of America Corporation accounts to prevent money laundering; can be used as an "intermediary" or widely accepted by the current banking system; and as a generally accepted method of payment.

Powell made the comments Wednesday at a virtual panel meeting at the BIS Innovation Summit.

Britain downgrades its economic growth forecast, announces tax cuts and other measures to deal with soaring inflation

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced a 6 billion pound ($7.9 billion) tax cut and hinted that income tax would be cut in the future to help ordinary Britons cope with the worsening pressure on the cost of living in the wake of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

"my tax plan is the largest net reduction in personal tax burden in more than the 1/4 century," Sunak said in a spring statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

The British chancellor of the exchequer said the war in Ukraine posed a risk to the economic recovery, causing British inflation to soar in 2022 and would slow economic growth. He cut the government's forecast for economic growth this year to 3.8% from the previous 6%.

Apple Inc buys British financial start-up Credit Kudos for $150 million

Apple Inc has acquired Credit Kudos, a British credit scoring start-up, and continues to move into payment technology, people familiar with the matter said today.

Credit Kudos, founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, allows companies to assess loan applicants by analyzing bank data, such as user transactions, and provide services to potential borrowers to assess their creditworthiness.

A spokesman for Apple Inc declined to comment on the report, saying only: "We buy smaller technology companies from time to time." The deal values Credit Kudos at about $150 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

In recent years, Apple Inc has been expanding the payment business. In 2019, the Apple Card credit card was launched in the United States, and the credit card installment plan was launched later that year.