Sanctions

Tourists gather on the bridge over the Vuoksi river near The Imatra Rapids in Imatra, Finland, on August 12, 2022. AFP LAPPEENRANTA, Finland — A crowd of people gathers in the Eastern Finnish city of Imatra on a bridge overlooking Imatrankoski rapids, one of the Nordic country’s most well-known natural attractions. At the same time every day, the river’s almost century-old dam is opened and water rushes under the bridge, to the sound of music by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is a popular attraction especially for Russian tourists. Even Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, visited Imatrankoski in 1772. But since the end of July, the city of Imatra has started the show by playing the Ukrainian national anthem, to protest the Russian invasion. Finland, which shares 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) eastern border with Russia, is also preparing to limit tourist visas issued for Russians. “This is bad for the Russians who love Finland,” says Mark Kosykh, a 44-year-old Russian … [Read more...] about Russian tourists to Finland greeted with Ukrainian anthem

ANOTHER INFLATION EXPLOSION… CNBC: Inflation rose 9.1% in June, even more than expected, as price pressures intensify Shoppers paid sharply higher prices for a variety of goods in June as inflation kept its hold on a slowing U.S. economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. The consumer price index, a broad measure of everyday goods and services, soared 9.1% from a year ago, above the 8.8% Dow Jones estimate. That marked another month of the fastest pace for inflation going back to December 1981. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core CPI increased 5.9%, compared to the 5.7% estimate. On a monthly basis, headline CPI rose 1.3% and core CPI was up 0.7%, compared to respective estimates of 1.1% and 0.5%. Taken together, the numbers seemed to counter the narrative that inflation may be peaking, as the gains were based across a variety of categories. WHITE HOUSE REACTION: DON’T BELIEVE YOUR EYES… ADMIN WILL KEEP SELLING OFF OUR … [Read more...] about Editors Daily Rundown: Another Inflation Explosion

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline A congressional delegation landed in Taiwan early Sunday morning to meet with Taiwanese leaders and discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, just weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit sparked major tensions with China, which claims the island. Key Facts Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, (R-American Samoa) will visit Taiwan Sunday and Monday as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region, according to a statement from the American Institute in Taiwan. The delegation, led by Markey, will also discuss regional security, trade and investment, global supply chains, climate change and other issues, according to the statement. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared a photo of vice foreign minister Alexander Yui greeting Markey upon his arrival, and thanked the “like-minded … [Read more...] about U.S. Congressional Delegation Lands In Taiwan After Pelosi’s Controversial Visit

- A + A (Aug 15): Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal invested more than US$500 million in Russian firms in the days around Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Prince Alwaleed’s investment firm, Kingdom Holding Co., acquired depositary receipts issued by Gazprom PSJC, Lukoil PJSC and Rosneft PJSC in February, according to a stock exchange filing. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. No specific dates for the investments were given, and the Saudi firm didn’t respond to questions about whether it still owned them. The value of all those depositary receipts dropped rapidly after the war began, when trading in Moscow was halted and western sanctions were imposed on Russia. Alwaleed, whose grandfather was the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, is one of the country’s richest men and most high profile international investors. More recently he has been eclipsed by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, chaired by his cousin, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which acquired a … [Read more...] about Saudi billionaire made US$500 million Russia bet near war’s onset