Us recession

Indonesia coal benchmark price COAL-HBA-ID has stayed above US$70 per tonne level since January 2021 but surged to a record US$321.59 per tonne this month, as the war in Ukraine exacerbated the energy supply crunch. - A + A JAKARTA (Aug 9): Indonesian legislators on Tuesday pressed the government to tighten rules on domestic coal sales, amid concern that miners will choose to pay fines instead of meeting a requirement to sell a quarter of their output to local power generators. The parliamentary energy committee met during recess on Tuesday, fearing the world's biggest thermal coal exporter was headed for a repeat of a domestic supply crisis late last year that saw exports banned for a few weeks in January, triggering panic among foreign buyers. Indonesia imposes a so-called Domestic Market Obligation (DMO) where miners must sell 25% of their output onshore, at prices capped at US$70 per tonne for power generators and US$90 per tonne for local industry. Though … [Read more...] about Indonesia lawmakers call for tougher rules to avert another coal crisis

Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author and editor of 24 books, including, " The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment ." Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer . The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) President Joe Biden delivered a bold speech on Thursday night , calling for a ban on assault weapons and other gun policies, including strengthening background checks and enacting new "red flag" laws. "Enough, enough," he told the nation, urging Congress to take action after a slew of mass shootings rocked the country. "We can't fail the American people again." The speech comes at a difficult moment for Biden. The administration is facing multiple escalating crises, which are slowly undermining his leadership and political strength. There's the Russian war in Ukraine, inflation and stock market turbulence, mass … [Read more...] about Opinion: How Biden can avoid Carter’s one-term presidential fate

Representative image Impostor syndrome seems to be more common than actually thought, though at a collective level. People may often feel that the groups they are affiliated with may be underperforming in comparison to other groups. Although this self-critical approach may work in certain cases, it may also overlook the positives, and decrease the morale of those affiliated with the group. Many in India seem to have a collective/national-level impostor syndrome. While the Indian economy is much better placed than its peers in the emerging markets, and other economies, the government is being criticised on the economic front. The criticism comes when the fundamentals of the Indian economy are robust, despite the exogenous shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and inflated crude oil prices. India's macroeconomic health remains robust despite external pressures, and ongoing … [Read more...] about Bibek Debroy writes: India’s economy is better placed than its peers, other economies around the world

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for India for the current financial year by 80 basis points to 7.4 percent. A similar downgrade has been made to the growth forecast for FY24, which now stands at 6.1 percent as against 6.9 percent earlier. "For India, the revision reflects mainly less favourable external conditions and more rapid policy tightening," the IMF said on July 26 in an update to its World Economic Outlook report. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February disrupted supplies of crucial commodities, pushing up prices globally. Consequently, key central banks in the developed world, such as the US Federal Reserve, have begun tightening their monetary policies in earnest to cut down multi-decade high inflation . This has exerted further pressure on the Indian rupee, which has hurtled to multiple record lows in recent weeks and last week breached the 80-per-dollar mark for the first time . Close … [Read more...] about IMF cuts India’s FY23 growth forecast by 80 bps to 7.4%

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. (File photo) Dear Reader , A day before the monetary policy announcement, the yield on the 10-year bond fell sharply on a media report that the MPC would signal a pause after Friday’s hike. Thankfully, the MPC held firm, refusing to oblige the bond markets. Not only did it increase the repo rate by 50 basis points, but also the MPC signalled more rate hikes in future by refusing to tone down its ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance. Much is being made of the fact that the policy rate is now at the pre-pandemic level. At 5.4 percent, the repo rate is now back to where it was in September 2019. But that is n​o big deal. GDP growth was a measly 3.7 percent in 2019-20 compared to RBI’s projection of 7.2 percent in 2022-23; retail inflation was a much lower 4.8 percent in 2019-20, compared to a projected 6.7 percent for 2022-23; the current account deficit was a comfortable 0.9 percent of GDP in 2019-20 as against projections of around 3 percent … [Read more...] about Moneycontrol Pro Weekender | Shaktikanta Das refuses to pivot

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Ukraine’s suspension of Russian oil to Eastern Europe sent oil prices soaring Tuesday morning, after Russian oil company Transneft announced Ukraine had not received transfer fees for the oil for nearly a week due to Western sanctions, renewing fears of supply shortages. Key Facts Brent Crude Oil shot up 1.13% Tuesday morning, hitting $97.78 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate increased 1.3%, to $92.06, following the announcement from Transneft , Russia’s pipeline monopoly. Transneft wrote in a statement obtained by Reuters that it had paid a transfer fee to Ukraine, but the money was returned because of European Union sanctions against Russia for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s decision to halt Russian oil affects the southern leg of the Druzhba pipeline, which feeds Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, according to Transneft. Hungary ’s oil reserves now sit … [Read more...] about Oil Prices Jump As Russian Oil Supplies Halted To Eastern Europe

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Both oil and gas exported from Russia bring in significant revenue that can be used to support the Russian war in Ukraine. But the export revenue from oil sales is much greate r than export revenue from gas sales. If the West stops buying oil this really hurts Russia – more than if the West stopped buying gas. Back in May, the EU agreed to ban all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, at least those that are delivered by sea. That was a good move. Russia threatens to cut gas supplies to the European Union. Russia has realized that cutting natural gas doesn’t affect their export revenue (like oil does) but it affects the economies of EU countries a lot more. Russia supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year , with Germany, Italy, and Netherlands the top three importers in actual volumes of gas. Germany had imported more than 50% of its gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. By the end of June, … [Read more...] about Russia Threatens, EU Reduces, US Industry Helps To Untangle The Natural Gas War In Europe.