Azerbaijan is one of the few countries in the world that runs a trade surplus. In other words, Azerbaijan exports more than it imports, which helps keep its currency stable. However, only a few years after gaining independence, the country experienced a trade deficit. To tell the truth, those years were among the most difficult in its history, as hyperinflation hit the economy and the population faced a currency devaluation. To put this into perspective, in the second year of independence, Azerbaijan ran a trade deficit and encountered hyperinflation. The following year, the country experienced its first major devaluation—its local currency plummeted 17 times, and inflation surged from 1,129 percent to 1,663 percent.
Day: April 23, 2025
Apple was fined 500 million euros on Wednesday, April 23, and Meta 200 million-euros, as European Union antitrust regulators handed out the first sanctions under landmark legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech, Reuters reports.
The EU fines could stoke tensions with U.S President Donald Trump who has threatened to levy tariffs against countries that penalize U.S. companies.
The sanctions following a year-long investigation by the European Commission, the EU executive, into whether the companies comply with the Digital Markets Act that seeks to allow smaller rivals into markets dominated by big tech.