THE DAILY NEWS

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BLOOMBERG

"‘They Do Not Want Us,’ Ukraine Says of NATO as Leaders Meet"


Marc Champion and Daryna Krasnolutska

28 JUNE 2022

(Bloomberg) -- With one foot in the door on European Union membership, Ukraine’s leadership is feeling if anything even more bitter about NATO as the military alliance gathers in Spain for its annual summit.

Ukraine is told “you are not a member because we do not want you,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Deputy Chief of Staff Ihor Zhovkva, who is responsible for foreign policy, said in an interview in Kyiv.

“NATO is telling us we are not giving you anything.”

The alliance’s members including the US, UK and nations across Europe have of course sent large arrays of weaponry into Ukraine to help it fight Russia’s invading forces.

Those weapons have steadily grown in intensity to include more offensive arms and, this week, a pledge from the US to ship an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system.

NATO states have also provided financial aid to keep the Ukrainian government operating.

But the alliance as a whole, according to Zhovkva, has fallen short, and Ukraine’s expectations for Madrid are low.

“Obviously what we want to achieve,” he said, speaking at his office along the darkened, sandbagged corridors of the presidential building, “is unanimous, vocal support for Ukraine.”

With Ukraine under intensified missile attacks, including on a shopping mall Monday with at least 18 people killed, Zelenskiy will address the alliance’s 30 leaders by video.

Zhovkva will be there in person to press his country’s case.

Ukraine has written its aspiration to join the transatlantic military alliance into its constitution, and has been seeking a so-called membership action plan to make that happen, so far without success and against strong opposition from Moscow.

Zelenskiy has said he is ready to consider committing to some form of “neutrality,” as demanded by Moscow, but only in exchange for firm security guarantees from Ukraine’s partners.

NATO’s political support is important, Zhovkva said, just as it is from the Group of Seven, whose leaders just met for three days in Germany, or any other international body.

He acknowledged, too, that much of the vital bilateral military Ukraine is getting comes from NATO members, including Poland, the UK and the US.

Yet Ukraine expected more practical support from NATO, arguably the only body equipped to offer effective security guarantees against a nuclear armed Russia.

The government in Kyiv asked NATO for weapons before the war, for a no fly zone after it began, and for a membership perspective throughout, Zhovkva said, adding “we received zero answer.”

Many NATO members, including the US, fear that enforcing a no-fly zone would lead quickly to a direct confrontation between nuclear powers.

Offering membership now, meanwhile, could give credence to President Vladimir Putin’s justification for the war as a response to NATO expansion, and could again lead to a rapid escalation.

The broader stance of the alliance might smart less if NATO members individually had been faster to provide the heavy weapons Ukraine believes it needs to survive, if not win the war.

“Now in Ukraine we are living a little bit quicker,” he said.

“People are dying.”

A new draft security concept for the alliance needs to acknowledge clearly that its primary threat is Russia and that the best defense it has against that threat is Ukraine, Zhovkva said.

With a military that has proved its ability and direct experience in fighting Russian armed forces, he said his country would benefit -- rather than jeopardize -- the security of other NATO members.

Adding Sweden and Finland to the alliance or expanding its rapid 15-day response force would all improve Europe’s security, according to Zhovkva.

But imagine what would have happened, he said, if Ukraine had taken 15 days to deploy its forces once Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/th ... 311fcf4f14
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ASSOCIATED PRESS

"NATO chief: Alliance faces biggest challenge since WWII"


By JILL LAWLESS, JOSEPH WILSON and SYLVIE CORBET, Associated Press

29 JUNE 2022

MADRID (AP) — NATO leaders were sitting down Wednesday to try to turn an urgent sense of purpose triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine into action — and to patch up any cracks in their unity over money and mission.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was meeting in Madrid “in the midst of the most serious security crisis we have faced since the Second World War.”

Russia’s invasion of its neighbor has shattered Europe’s peace and driven NATO to pour troops and weapons into eastern Europe on a scale not seen since the Cold War.

Members of the alliance have also sent billions in military and civilian aid to Ukraine.

The 30 NATO leaders will hear directly from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is likely to ask them to do even more when he addresses the gathering by video link.

U.S. President Joe Biden, whose country provides the bulk of NATO's military power, said the summit was sending “an unmistakable message .. that NATO is strong and united.”

“We’re stepping up."

"We’re proving that NATO is more needed now than it ever has been,” said Biden.


He announced a hefty boost in America's military presence in Europe, including a permanent U.S. base in Poland, two more Navy destroyers based in Rota, Spain, and two more F35 squadrons to the U.K.

But NATO allies are showing signs of strain as the cost of energy and other essential goods has skyrocketed amid the war and tough Western sanctions on Russia.

There also are tensions over how the war will end and what, if any, concessions Ukraine should make to stop the fighting.

Money could also be a sensitive issue — just nine of NATO’s 30 members currently meet the organization’s target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense.


British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose country does hit the target, urged NATO allies “to dig deep to restore deterrence and ensure defense in the decade ahead.”

The war has already triggered a big increase in NATO’s forces in eastern Europe, and allies are expected to agree at the summit to increase the strength of the alliance’s rapid reaction force nearly eightfold, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops by next year.

The troops will be based in their home nations, but dedicated to specific countries on NATO’s eastern flank, where the alliance plans to build up stocks of equipment and ammunition.

Stoltenberg said NATO was undertaking “the biggest overhaul of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.”

The leaders are also set to publish NATO’s new Strategic Concept, its once-a-decade set of priorities and goals.

The last such document, in 2010, called Russia a “strategic partner” for NATO.

Now Russia is set to be declared the alliance’s number one threat.

The document will also set out NATO’s approach on issues from cybersecurity to climate change — and the growing economic and military reach of China.

For the first time, the leaders of Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand are attending the summit as guests, a reflection of the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region.

Stoltenberg said China was not NATO’s adversary, but posed “challenges to our values, to our interest and to our security.”

Biden was due to hold a rare joint meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the summit, focused on North Korea’s nuclear program.

The summit opened with one problem solved, after Turkey agreed Tuesday to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.

In response to the invasion, the two Nordic nations abandoned their long-held nonaligned status and applied to join NATO as protection against an increasingly aggressive and unpredictable Russia — which shares a long border with Finland.

NATO operates by consensus, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to block the Nordic pair, insisting they change their stance on Kurdish rebel groups that Turkey considers terrorists.

After urgent top-level talks with leaders of the three countries, alliance Secretary Stoltenberg said the impasse had been cleared.

Turkey hailed Tuesday’s agreement as a triumph, saying the Nordic nations had agreed to crack down on groups that Ankara deems national security threats, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is also considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and the EU, and its Syrian extension.

It said they also agreed “not to impose embargo restrictions in the field of defense industry” on Turkey and to take “concrete steps on the extradition of terrorist criminals.”

Stoltenberg said leaders of the 30-nation alliance will issue a formal invitation Wednesday to the two countries to join.

The decision has to be ratified by all individual nations, but he said he was “absolutely confident” Finland and Sweden would become members.

Stoltenberg said he expected the process to be finished “rather quickly,” but did not set a time on it.
___

Associated Press writer Zeke Miller in Madrid contributed.
___

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/na ... 311fcf4f14
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RIGZONE

"Oil Hits First Monthly Decline This Year"


by Bloomberg | Julia Fanzeres

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Oil marked its first monthly decline since November as OPEC+ completed the return of output it halted during the pandemic and signs emerged that the US economy was on weaker footing than expected.

West Texas Intermediate dropped below $106 a barrel on Thursday, posting a monthly decline of 7.8%.

OPEC+ rubber-stamped an increase in supply for August, but focus is turning to how much those members with spare production capacity will pump once the current agreement ends.

President Joe Biden said he’ll request more output at the Gulf Cooperation Council forum next month rather than ask Saudi Arabia directly.

Prices were also pressured Thursday after a report showed US consumer spending fell in May for the first time this year and prior months were revised lower.


“A raft of US data all drove home the point that recession risks continue to grow” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda.

“The demand outlook might be deteriorating as gasoline usage has disappointed” with retail prices hovering near record highs.

US gasoline demand is showing signs of softening just three weeks into the peak driving season.

This comes after retail gasoline prices hit national record highs earlier in the month.

The data were published a day after a report showed fewer Americans are planning road trips this summer as gas prices soar.

Demand has stalled since the beginning of the year, when we were having a higher rate of demand growth, Ed Morse, Citigroup’s global head of commodity research, said in a Bloomberg TV interview.

“And it’s stalling out in the rest of the world because of high prices.”

Soaring gasoline prices have become a political problem for Biden, who has lobbied OPEC+ to increase output while also tapping into the strategic reserve to supplement the tight physical market.

In his upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden said, he will ask American allies in the Persian Gulf region to increase production instead of asking Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman directly to boost energy output directly at the July 16 meeting.


Even as futures have come off in recent days leading to the first monthly decline this year, premiums for more promptly available physical barrels are fetching enormous premiums amid outages from Libya to Ecuador.

Prices:

WTI for August delivery fell by $4.02 to settle at $105.76 in New York.

Brent for August settlement, which expires Thursday, fell $1.45 to settle at $114.81 a barrel.

Oil is still about 45% higher this year as the global economic recovery coincided with upended trade flows from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in late February.

US crude inventories at the key storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, have reached critically low levels as refineries produce as much fuel as possible, while the pull for barrels from overseas remains strong.

The world is heading for a “turbulent period” as tightening supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas exacerbate a global energy crunch, Shell Plc Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in Singapore on Wednesday.

“Spare capacity is very low, demand is still recovering,” he said.


https://www.rigzone.com/news/wire/oil_h ... 3-article/
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CNBC

"10-year Treasury yield dips as inflation reading is weaker than expected"


Tanaya Macheel @TANAYAMAC Sam Meredith @SMEREDITH19

PUBLISHED THU, JUN 30 2022

U.S. Treasury yields moved lower on Thursday after key inflation data came in slightly cooler than expected.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note moved 7 basis points lower to trade at 3.02%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slid nearly 3 basis points to 3.183%.

Yields move inversely to prices.

The core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, rose 4.7% in May, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

That’s 0.2 percentage points less than the month before, but still around levels last seen in the 1980s.

The index was expected to show a year-over-year increase of 4.8% for May, according to Dow Jones.

The Chicago PMI, which tracks business activity in the region, came in at 56, slightly below a StreetAccount estimate of 58.3.

Thursday marked the final day of the second quarter.

Concern over a slowing economy and aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve have continued to dominate market sentiment.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said that policymakers would not allow inflation to take hold of the U.S. economy over the longer term.

Speaking at a European Central Bank forum, Powell said it’s important to arrest long-term inflation expectations so that they don’t become entrenched and create a self-fulfilling cycle.

“We’re strongly committed to using our tools to get inflation to come down."

"The way to do that is to slow down growth, ideally keeping it positive,” he said.

“Is there a risk that would go too far?"

"Certainly, there’s a risk."

"I wouldn’t agree that it’s the biggest risk to the economy."

"The bigger mistake to make ... would be to fail to restore price stability.”

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox and Elliot Smith contributed to this report.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/us-bond ... tions.html
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CNBC

"Fed’s preferred inflation measure rose 4.7% in May, around multi-decade highs"


Jeff Cox @JEFF.COX.7528 @JEFFCOXCNBCCOM

PUBLISHED THU, JUN 30 2022

KEY POINTS

* Core personal consumption expenditures prices, excluding food and energy, rose 4.7% from a year ago, slightly less than expected.

* Headline inflation remained strong, rising 0.6% on the month and holding near the highest level since 1982.

* Disposable income and inflation-adjusted spending both declined on the month.

* Weekly jobless claims totaled 231,000, a slight decline from the previous period.


Inflation held at stubbornly high levels in May, though the monthly increased was slightly less than expected, according to a Commerce Department gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve.

Core personal consumption expenditures prices rose 4.7% from a year ago, 0.2 percentage point less than the previous month but still around levels last seen in the 1980s.

Wall Street had been looking for a reading around 4.8%.

On monthly basis, the measure, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.3%, slightly less than the 0.4% Dow Jones estimate.

Headline inflation, however, shot higher, rising 0.6% for the month, much faster than the 0.2% gain in April.

That kept year-over-year inflation at 6.3%, the same as in April and down slightly from March’s 6.6%, which was the highest reading since January 1982.


In addition, the report reflected pressures on consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 70% of all economic activity in the U.S.

While personal income rose 0.5% in May, ahead of the 0.4% estimate, income after taxes and other charges, or disposable personal income, declined 0.1% on the month and 3.3% from a year ago.

Spending adjusted for inflation fell 0.4%, a sharp drop from the 0.3% gain in April, though it was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

“The rising cost of living absorbed all of the increased spending power from added jobs and higher wages in May,” said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank.

“Americans are running faster just to stay even."

"No wonder consumer confidence is in the pits.”

Goods inflation rose 9.6% while services prices were up 4.7%, both up 0.1 percentage point from April.


The personal saving rate edged higher, rising to 5.4%, up 0.2 percentage point from the previous month.

Fed officials are watching the data closely as they seek to control runaway inflation.

Central bank policymakers generally watch core inflation more closely because they believe monetary policy is less effective at controlling the ups and downs of gas and grocery prices.

However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has said in recent days that he also is watching headline numbers closely as well as gas prices average about $4.86 a gallon.

The consumer price index, which measures a broad range of goods and services and is more closely watched by the public, rose 8.6% in May, its highest level since late 1981.

In other economic news Thursday, the Labor Department reported that jobless claims edged lower to 231,000 for the week ended June 25.

That was a decline of 2,000 from the previous period though 1,000 higher than the estimate.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind the headline number, totaled 1.33 million, a slight decline from the previous week.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/feds-pr ... -high.html
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REUTERS

"S&P 500 closes the book on its steepest first-half slide since 1970"


By Stephen Culp

June 30, 2022

Summary

* U.S. May consumer spending rises moderately; inflation stays hot

* Nasdaq notches biggest-ever Jan-June percentage drop

* Indexes down: Dow 0.82%, S&P 0.88%, Nasdaq 1.33%


NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, crossing the finish line of a grim month and quarter, a dismal coda to the S&P 500's worst first half in more than half a century.

All three major U.S. stock indexes finished the month and the second quarter in negative territory, with the S&P 500 notching its steepest first-half percentage drop since 1970.

The Nasdaq had its largest-ever January-June percentage drop, while the Dow suffered its biggest first-half percentage plunge since 1962.

All three indexes posted their second straight quarterly declines.

The last time that happened was in 2015 for the S&P and the Dow, and 2016 for the Nasdaq.

The year began with spiking cases of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant.

Then came Russia's invasion of Ukraine, decades-high inflation and aggressive interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, which have stoked fears of a possible recession.

"All year it’s been a tug-of-war between inflation and slowing growth, balancing tightening financial conditions to address inflation concerns but trying to avoid outright panic," said Paul Kim, chief executive officer at Simplify ETFs in New York.

"I think we are more than likely already in a recession and right now the only question is how harsh will the recession be?"

"I think it’s very unlikely that we’ll see a soft landing," Kim added.

Economic data released on Thursday did little to allay those fears.

Disposable income inched lower, consumer spending decelerated, inflation remained hot and jobless claims inched higher.


"We’ve started to see a slowdown in consumer spending," Said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York.

"And it seems that inflation is taking its toll on the average consumer and that translates to corporate earnings which is what ultimately drives the stock market."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 253.88 points, or 0.82%, to 30,775.43, the S&P 500 lost 33.45 points, or 0.88%, to 3,785.38 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 149.16 points, or 1.33%, to 11,028.74.

Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors ended down, with utilities leading the gainers and energy notching the largest percentage drop.

But energy was to only major sector to post a year-to-date gain, aided by crude prices spiking over supply concerns due to Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The major stock indexes lost ground in June, with the S&P 500 logging its largest June percentage decline since the financial crisis.

Second-quarter reporting season begins in several weeks, and 130 of the companies in the S&P 500 have pre-announced.

Of those, 45 have been positive and 77 have been negative, resulting in a negative/positive ratio of 1.7 stronger than the first quarter but weaker than a year ago, according to Refinitiv data.

Worries over inflation dampening consumer demand and threatening profit margins will have market participants listening closely to forward guidance.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc fell 7.3% as its quarterly profit plunged 76%, hurt by its opioid settlement with Florida and a decrease in U.S. pharmacy sales on waning demand for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.75-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.52-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and 42 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 17 new highs and 367 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 12.58 billion shares, compared with the 12.86 billion average over the last 20 trading days.

Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ ... 022-06-30/
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REUTERS

"U.S. consumer spending, underlying inflation slow in May"


By Lucia Mutikani

June 30, 2022

Summary

* Consumer spending increases 0.2% in May

* Inflation adjusted consumers spending drops 0.4%

* Core PCE price index rises 0.3%; up 4.7% year-on-year

* Weekly jobless claims fall 2,000 to 231,000


WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending rose less than expected in May as motor vehicles remained scarce while higher prices forced cutbacks on purchases of other goods, another sign that the rebound in economic growth early in the second quarter was losing steam.

Though the report from the Commerce Department on Thursday suggested inflation had probably peaked, price pressures remained strong enough to keep the Federal Reserve on its aggressive monetary policy tightening path.

Nevertheless, Fed officials should welcome cooling demand.

Rising interest rates and tight financial conditions are stoking fears of a recession, but economic data so far point to moderate growth.

New claims for unemployment benefits kept grinding lower last week, despite layoffs in technology and housing sectors, other data showed on Thursday.

"The Fed hasn't won the war on inflation just yet, but there are somewhat encouraging signs that the economy is slowing down," said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.

"Despite recession fears, job layoffs have not quite reached high enough levels to make the call that the economy is headed over the cliff into the depths of recession."

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, gained 0.2% in May, the smallest rise in five months.

Data for April was revised down to show outlays increasing 0.6% instead of 0.9% as previously reported.

There were also downward revisions to data going back to January, showing a softer growth profile for spending this year.

Spending on goods meant to last three years or more declined 3.2%, pulled down by motor vehicles.

Purchases of furnishings and durable household equipment also decreased as did recreational goods and vehicles.

That partially offset a 0.7% increase in services, which was driven by housing and utilities as well as healthcare and international travel.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending would climb 0.4%.

The report joined data on housing starts, building permits and manufacturing production in suggesting that the economy was struggling to gain altitude after gross domestic product dropped at an annualized 1.6% rate in the first quarter.

Stocks on Wall Street were lower.

The dollar was steady against a basket of currencies.

U.S. Treasury prices rose.

INFLATION PEAKED

The U.S. central bank this month raised its policy rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, its biggest hike since 1994.

The Fed has increased its benchmark overnight interest rate by 150 basis points since March.

Inflation maintained its upward trend in May.

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.6% last month after gaining 0.2% in April.

In the 12 months through May, the PCE price index climbed 6.3% after a similar gain in April.

It was driven by higher prices for goods and services.

But underlying price pressures are starting to abate.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index rose 0.3% for the fourth straight month.

The so-called core PCE price index advanced 4.7% on a year-on-year basis in May, the smallest increase since last November, after rising 4.9% in April.

The PCE price indexes are the Fed's favored measures for its 2% inflation target.

The PCE price indexes are running lower than the consumer price index, which increased 8.6% year-on-year in May, because they have a smaller weight for the fast rising residential rents.

While healthcare has a bigger weighting in the PCE measures, legislated cuts to Medicare payments have pushed down medical services prices.

They have also benefited from declining financial services costs amid falling asset prices.

"Data for June and July could also show similarly soft PCE compared to CPI, but we expect the Fed would need to see evidence of slowing inflationary pressure across a range of data before slowing the pace of rate hikes," said Veronica Clark, an economist at Citigroup in New York.

Consumer spending adjusted for inflation fell 0.4% in May, the first drop since December.

That together with strong inventory accumulation in the first quarter, especially at general merchandise stores, poses a downside risk to economic growth in the second quarter.


Growth estimates for this quarter range from as low as a 0.3% rate to as high as a 2.9% pace.

But with a tight labor market generating solid wage increases and household savings still ample, moderate nominal spending is expected to prevail, supported by services.

That should help to limit job losses.

Wages increased 0.5% in May, contributing to the 0.5% rise in personal income.

The saving rate rose to 5.4%, the first increase this year, from 5.2% in April.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 231,000 for the week ended June 25.

"Since providing services accounts for disproportionately more jobs than producing goods, the labor market is holding pretty tight," said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank in Dallas.

"This dampens the self-reinforcing passthrough of lower spending to job cuts to lower incomes and even lower spending."

Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Nick Zieminski and David Gregorio

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ ... 022-06-30/
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REUTERS

"Germany in bailout talks with Uniper amid gas crisis"


By Tom Käckenhoff and Vera Eckert

June 30, 2022

Summary

* First German company to raise alarm over scarce gas, prices

* Gas stocks lowest since early 2017

* Fortum says will help but crisis requires big efforts

* Works council wants German government to step in


FRANKFURT/DUESSELDORF/BERLIN, June 30 (Reuters) - Germany’s Uniper is in talks about a possible government bailout as the financial fallout from dwindling supplies of Russian gas reverberates across Europe, sending shares in the energy company sliding.

The falling supply of gas has forced utilities across the continent into expensive spot market purchases to plug the gap while governments, worried about rising inflation, have capped prices for consumers, squeezing the finances of suppliers.

A German Economy Ministry spokesperson said the government was in talks with Uniper, one of Russian Gazprom's biggest European customers, about stabilisation measures.

Uniper Chief Executive Klaus-Dieter Maubach said the talks included possible guarantees, raising credit facilities or even the state taking an equity stake.

He did not say how much money he was seeking.

Uniper shares in the midcaps index closed 14.4% lower.

They are down 66% since the beginning of the year and at their lowest since March 6, 2017.

Finland's Fortum, which has a 78% stake in Uniper, fell 6.1%.

Fortum said it was supporting Uniper, which was forced to ditch its financial forecasts and issue a profit warning, with credit lines and guarantees, but it said the nature of the critical situation required "national and sector-wide efforts."

The head of Uniper's works council said the state should step in, possibly taking a majority.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking during a NATO summit in Spain, said in reference to Uniper that the government knew what to do when it came to helping companies facing external shocks, without elaborating.

Uniper's plight will raise pressure on the government to allow utilities to pass on soaring energy costs to consumers, a step Germany stopped short of triggering when it moved to the "alarm" stage of its emergency gas plan earlier this month.

Berlin fears public protests if gas price hikes hit consumers in their millions directly.


It is aiming to fill gas storage to 80% to prevent the crisis from escalating over winter and has reached 61% so far.

Governments across Europe are taking action to prop up strategic companies.

Spain has approved a bailout package and the Czech Republic has been in talks with utilities about offering aid while new rules in Hungary allow the government to supervise energy firms.

In Britain, however, dozens of energy companies caught between rising costs and the UK's energy price cap, have collapsed in the past 12 months.


UNIPER ALREADY UNDER STRAIN

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exposed the EU's and particularly Germany's dependence on Russian gas supplies.

Uniper, the first energy company in Germany to ask the state for help, said it had received only 40% of the contractually agreed gas volumes from Gazprom since June 16.

Across Europe the dwindling supply of Russian gas has sparked a frantic search for alternative energy sources, such as seaborne gas on liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, often at much higher prices.

Already before the war in Ukraine Uniper had asked for a 2 billion euros credit line from state-owned KfW bank, which has not yet been drawn, Maubach said.

The company had to write off a $1 billion loan to Nord Stream 2, the suspended new pipeline for Russian gas, in March.

It is trying to renegotiate contracts with customers, traders said, although Uniper said no customers had been approached about contracts in the context of the withdrawal of its financial outlook.

Canadian bank RBC, noting that Uniper had already been downgraded to the lowest investment grade rating by S&P, said: "Unless there is intervention to support the company, the situation looks precarious."

The bank's analysts said the focus will turn to other utilities.

Germany's RWE said in a statement to Reuters that its liquidity is sufficient and it was not in talks with the government.

Ahead of its first-half earnings due on Aug. 2, Uniper, which encompasses the activities of former gas champion Ruhrgas and serves customers across Europe, withdrew its 2022 profit guidance.

It now expects earnings before interest and tax to be “significantly below” previous years.

Global gas prices have been spiralling upwards since last year due to a stronger than expected post-COVID economic recovery while Russian exports had been quietly falling and inventories had been run down.

Europe is anxiously awaiting scheduled maintenance during July 11-21 on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which brings gas to Germany from Russia, hoping Russia reopens the pipeline as planned.

Gazprom maintains it is a reliable energy supplier that fulfils all its obligations.

The benchmark Dutch front month price of gas was up 6.2%.

Aurora Energy Research said European gas prices could go up by two thirds by the end of this year if Russian gas exports were halted.

Gazprom's share price meanwhile, was off 28% on Thursday after shareholders blocked a plan to pay dividends on last year's results.

Reporting by Vera Eckert, Tom Kaeckenhoff, Markus Wacket; additional reporting by Jesus Aguado, Jan Lopatka, Ron Bousso, Nina Chestney, Danilo Masoni; additional writing by Tom Sims; editing by Paul Carrel, Elaine Hardcastle and Susan Fenton

https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ ... 022-06-30/
thelivyjr
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Re: THE DAILY NEWS

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FOX NEWS

"Varney: Another Biden failure, another Harris embarrassment"


Fox Business

30 JUNE 2022

During Stuart Varney's latest "My Take," Thursday, the FOX Business host slammed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris over their handling of the border crisis, citing it as another "failure" and "embarrassment" for the administration.

STUART VARNEY: The Vice President, Kamala Harris, has spoken out about the death of 53 migrants in that boiling-hot, sealed truck in Texas.

She also had something to say about the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who had blamed the administration for the deaths.

The vice president has been widely criticized for her vague, "word salad" statements.

That was another one.

But let’s boil it down:

Harris says Governor Abbott went political instead of "dealing with the realities of the issue."

Wrong.

Governor Abbott is dealing with this awful reality - a reality created by Biden’s border failure.

It is Texas which is putting in resources.

It is Abbott who is doing Biden’s job.

Harris says the government is taking "smuggling" very seriously.

Well, let’s call it by its proper name: it is "human trafficking," and whatever the government is doing about it, is not working!

She says, "we have a broken immigration system that was decimated by the last administration."

What?

It was Trump who got the border under control.

It was Biden who invited migrants in.

And it was Harris, the '"Border Czar," who watched them come in by the million.

Another Biden failure.

Another Harris embarrassment.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 0361055993
thelivyjr
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Re: THE DAILY NEWS

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THE VERGE

"Biden administration launches $1 billion effort to correct racist highway designs of the past"


Andrew J. Hawkins

30 JUNE 2022

The Biden administration announced a $1 billion effort to rectify racist infrastructure decisions of the past, such as highways that were built by bulldozing Black communities.

The program, which the Department of Transportation is calling “Reconnecting Communities,” will in some cases tear down highways that were built with the expressed purpose of creating physical barriers between mostly Black and minority communities.


Other projects will focus on building new infrastructure, like greenways to promote cycling and walking or transit programs, like rapid bus lines to reconnect communities to urban cores.

“Our focus isn’t about assigning blame."

"It isn’t about getting caught up in guilt or regret."

"It is about fixing a problem,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a briefing with reporters.

“It is about mending what has been broken, especially when the damage was done through taxpayer dollars.”


Buttigieg traveled to Birmingham, Alabama, Thursday to announce that the department was now accepting applications for the Reconnecting Communities pilot program.

Birmingham officials plan on using federal funds from the program to finance a new bus rapid transit system in the city.

The money, which will be spread out over five years, was included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden late last year.

Of the $1 billion dedicated to the pilot program, $195 million will be available in 2022, while $50 million will go toward planning activities for communities that may be early in the application process.

Officials said that preference will be given to “economically disadvantaged communities, especially those with projects that are focused on equity and environmental justice, have strong community engagement and stewardship, and a commitment to shared prosperity and equitable development.”

There are numerous egregious examples of infrastructure projects across the 20th century that were designed to disadvantage low-income communities, especially Black and Hispanic people.

For example, the notorious urban planner, Robert Moses, designed a parkway to Jones Beach on Long Island with a series of overpasses that were too short to accommodate buses, essentially cutting off Black and Puerto Rican residents’ access to the beach.

Other examples include Syracuse, where Interstate 80 was purposefully built through a thriving Black neighborhood in the 1960s, displacing hundreds of residents.

This fall, New York State plans on starting the process of tearing down the elevated highway, sending slower traffic to street level and faster traffic around the city on what is now I-481.

Stephanie Pollack, deputy administrator at the Federal Highway Administration, said there is a historic opportunity to right the wrongs of the past by investing in high-quality public transportation, pedestrian walkways, and linear parks and trails that encourage walking, biking, and improved mobility for nearby residents.

“Where current transportation infrastructure creates barriers to community connectivity, we can support investments in retrofitting new roadway designs, complete street conversions, and main street revitalizations,” she said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... 0361055993
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