Eu

Ukraine The European Union offered strong support for Ukraine at a summit held in Kyiv as air raid sirens wailed on Friday, but set "no rigid timelines" for its accession to the wealthy bloc. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had hoped the EU would put Ukraine on a rapid road to membership. But he used the summit to step up calls for his allies to deliver long-range weapons to help repel Russian forces besieging the city of Bakhmut and occupying much of the Donbas region in the east of the country. "If weapons (supplies) are quickened, specifically long-range weapons, we not only will not leave Bakhmut, but we will also begin to deoccupy Donbas, which has been occupied since 2014," he told a joint news conference after the summit. Ukrainian forces have held out for months in Bakhmut, where fighting has been fierce. "Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress," Zelenskiy said. Read More Air raid sirens … [Read more...] about Ukraine wins EU pledges of support, no promise of fast-track accession

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Gasoline prices are rising again – up more than 30 cents a gallon in the past month and around 15 cents in the last two weeks alone. Motorists should brace for more pain. One reason is that the global market for refined products is about to be upended by the latest European Union (EU) sanctions on Russia’s petroleum industry. On February 5, the EU will ban imports of Russian refined products like diesel, jet fuel, gasoline, and heating oil. While global oil markets have recently handled a similar ban on Russian crude imports quite well, these product sanctions could be far more disruptive. Markets for refined fuels are much more complex than for crude, with refineries configured to process certain types of feedstock crudes and to manufacture varying slates of products, depending on regional demand patterns. The issue for Europe is that it relies on Russia for about 40 percent of its refined product imports and … [Read more...] about EU’s Ban On Russian Diesel To Stoke Turmoil In Global Fuel Markets

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 345. As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the situation. Russian artillery fire hit a residential building in the town of Barvinkove, Kharkiv region, killing two at 4:30 a. m. local time Feb. 3 , announced Kharkiv regional Governor, Oleh Synehubov. The victims were brothers, aged 49 and 42; their father was also injured and hospitalized, Synehubov added. The Kharkiv region came under massive Russian fire over the past 24 hours, with homes hit in the towns of Vovchansk, Kupiansk, Dvorichna and others, injuring a 51-year-old woman. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Feb. 2, ahead of the Ukraine-European Union summit, on Ukraine’s admission to the EU, with 489 votes in favor , its press service announced. According to the resolution, the EU should … [Read more...] about Friday, February 3. Russia’s War On Ukraine: Daily News And Information From Ukraine

SINGAPORE  – Oil prices eased on Friday, with major benchmarks headed for their second straight week of losses, as the market awaited further signs of fuel demand recovery in China to offset looming slumps in other major economies. Brent crude futures fell 34 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $81.83 a barrel by 0740 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid 37 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $75.51. Both contracts have dropped by more than 5 percent so far this week, with mixed signals on fuel demand recovery in China, the world’s top oil importer, keeping a lid on prices. ANZ analysts pointed to a sharp jump in traffic in China’s 15 largest cities following the Lunar New Year holiday, but also noted that Chinese traders had been “relatively absent”. The prospect of an economic rebound in China after COVID-19 curbs eased has buoyed the oil market so far this year, along with a weaker dollar that makes the commodity cheaper for those holding other currencies. The … [Read more...] about Oil weakens as market awaits signs of China demand recovery

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The news is full of seemingly disparate themes that urgently need connecting. The first is the nerdy macro-economics of demographics. China is shrinking for the first time in 60 years. South Korea’s birthrate is plummeting towards levels never seen before while that of the US is at a hundred-year low. The second strand is the toxic masculinity seeping across the planet, from the Tates and the Trumps, to the beleaguered backlash from women-repressing regimes in Iran and Afghanistan , and the general rise of gender-based violence across the world. The third is the crescendo of mental health and loneliness among the young . What’s the connection between demographics, toxic masculinity and epidemic levels of loneliness? Women. The link between the three is the rising independence of women -personally, professionally and politically - and the lack of a parallel rise in inspiring leaders and pathways for young men. If we … [Read more...] about The Tragic Disconnect Between Men And Women – No Sex, No Babies, Lots Of Loneliness, Shrinking Populations

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Friday’s amazing job numbers — which continue to hit it out of the park — mean that no matter how often Wall Street talks itself into a Fed rate pause, it’s not going to happen any time soon. Barring a crash in commodity prices, inflation will need to fall to 5% before the Fed hits the brakes. “The fed will hate this set of numbers,” says Brian McCarthy, head of investment research firm Macrolens in Stamford, Conn. “January payrolls are always wonky due to annual revisions and an extreme seasonal adjustment, but with both hourly earnings and hours worked also looking much more robust than we were led to believe last month, there is no denying a picture of continued strength in the labor market, which is at odds with a gathering stream of layoff announcements.” The Federal Reserve already raised interest rates a quarter-point this week, its eighth hike since March . Those hikes, of course, could help slow the economy. … [Read more...] about Strong Labor Market Lends Itself To More Fed Hikes, But Not For Long

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Serie A January transfer market window will suffer significantly from the financial wounds inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic. This winter, Serie A fans will not experience the same calciomercato liveliness that, in recent years, has brought high-profile names to Italian soccer, such as Cristiano Ronaldo , Zlatan Ibrahimović , Romelu Lukaku, and Christian Eriksen. That is the argument supported by Eleonora Trotta, who has been covering Serie A’s transfer market news for more than a decade as an editor for Italian online newspaper Calciomercato.it . Trotta explains that a lack of funds is forcing sporting directors across all Serie A clubs to take a very prudent approach to transfer negotiations. “The main trend is that the budget (for clubs) does not exist,” Trotta told me. “It’s basically zero.” A Risk-Averse Approach Because clubs cannot afford investing in risky transfer deals, … [Read more...] about What To Expect From The Serie A January Transfer Market Window As Teams Work With Limited Budgets

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 346. As Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues and the war rages on, reliable sources of information are critical. Forbes gathers information and provides updates on the situation. National. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says a “technological accident” of unspecified nature occurred at a regional Odesa high voltage substation today following repeated attacks by Russian forces. Much of the city of Odesa and its environs are now undergoing emergency blackouts. Damage was so severe, particularly to critical infrastructure, that speedy restoration of power is impossible even with round-the-clock repair efforts. Shymhal has ordered the Ministry of Energy to deliver all available high-output generators to Odesa within 24 hours. Russia released 116 Ukrainian soldiers, including Mariupol defenders, Kherson partisans and Bakhmut snipers, in the latest prisoner-of-war exchange … [Read more...] about Saturday, February 4. Russia’s War On Ukraine: Daily News And Information From Ukraine