Moscow and its trade partners should switch to transactions in national currencies, Andrey Kostin believes Russia should abandon the use of the Western-controlled global financial messaging system SWIFT, the head of Russia’s second-largest bank has argued.

Bulgaria plans to wean itself from Russian oil by next fall despite being exempt from the EU-wide ban on crude purchases from the sanctioned country, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing officials. The Balkan country had been allowed to continue buying seaborne Russian oil for its Neftohim refinery, owned by Russia’s Lukoil, until the end of…

A US debt crisis is looming as the American economy is facing a “risky” fiscal situation, according to the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio. Dalio’s warning comes as the country’s national debt topped $33 trillion this month. US lawmakers are currently negotiating a spending bill before the October 1…