Energy markets safe from Ukraine crisis says Goldman Sachs March 5, 2014 Despite the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine the impact on energy markets is likely to minimal, according to a research note from Goldman Sachs. A view that may carry considerable weight given yesterday's sharp rally in natural gas prices. Goldman believe there is no real reason to be concerned about the safety of natural [...]
Calmer markets come off sharp gains March 5, 2014 European bourses edged slightly lower at the open, as tensions over Ukraine ease but investors remain cautious. Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has just said that Russian “aggression” is having an extremely negative effect on the country’s struggling economy. The US has demanded Russian forces are pulled back from Crimea. Russia’s Micex index fell 1.8 [...]
Obama: Putin is fooling nobody March 4, 2014 BARACK Obama issued a stark message to President Putin yesterday, warning that Russia’s attempts to legitimise military intervention in Crimea are fooling nobody. The US President all-but accused Putin of violating international law, while US secretary of state John Kerry reiterated the threat of economic sanctions against the country if Putin does not withdraw his [...]
Gazprom cancels discount on gas supply for Ukraine March 4, 2014 RUSSIAN-state owned utility Gazprom will strip Ukraine of its discount for gas prices from April, it said yesterday, as chief executive Alexey Miller claimed the country owes debts of $1.529bn (£920m) to his company. Gazprom says it has not received payments for gas sent in January, adding to huge debts accumulated debt over the past [...]
Companies are spooked by volatile Ukraine March 4, 2014 GLOBAL companies are watching developments in Ukraine nervously, as markets react with uncertainty to the standoff between Russia, Ukraine and the rest of the world. Yesterday car manufacturer Renault scaled back its growth forecast to just under two per cent, citing volatility in emerging markets. The warning comes despite the car market picking up across [...]
London Report: FTSE reverses losses as crisis in Crimea eases March 4, 2014 THE UK’S top share index rebounded from two-week lows yesterday, recouping its losses in the previous session, with the perception that tensions between Russia and Ukraine were easing and robust earnings boosting investors’ risk appetite. However, investors remained cautious in placing strong bets on the sustainability of the share rally, given that Russia and the [...]
New York Report: S&P climbs to another fresh all-time high March 4, 2014 US STOCKS rallied yesterday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record as concerns about a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine eased, and the market recovered more than all of the previous session’s hefty losses. President Vladimir Putin delivered a robust defence of Russia’s actions in Crimea, saying he would use force in Ukraine only [...]
Letters to the Editor – 05/03 – End of the BBC, Ukraine crisis risks, Best of Twitter March 4, 2014 End of the BBC [Re: How technology has doomed the BBC licence fee, yesterday] If we make the BBC a pay-per-view service, there will be greater scope for selling programmes outside the UK than is currently the case. There must be thousands of hours of BBC programming (both current and historic) that non UK residents [...]
How the West should best the crumbling Kremlin March 4, 2014 AN UNLIKELY source holds the key to how the West should respond to Russia’s takeover of the Crimea. While researching for my book Ethical Realism (which I co-wrote with the rightly celebrated Anatol Lieven), I came across a startling fact. Reinhold Niebuhr, one of the US’s best-known twentieth-century political thinkers, was also the author of [...]
The poll that shows not one majority in any Ukrainian region favours joining Russia March 4, 2014 Russia’s incursion into Crimea has so far been justified on the grounds of protecting those citizens of Russian descent and Russian speakers. On Monday, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, at UN meetings in Geneva, said “this is a question of defending our citizens and compatriots, ensuring human rights, especially the right to life.” However, these [...]