Oil rallies stutter as US-Iran talks reach final stages February 17, 2022 Oil prices have dropped this morning as talks to revive the aborted nuclear deal with Iran have progressed over recent days.
‘Golden visas’ for wealthy foreign investors to be scrapped amid dirty Russian money concerns February 17, 2022 The government is expected to scrap so-called “golden visas” for wealthy foreign investors amid concerns over links between Russia and the UK. Those eligible for the tier one investor visa, launched in 2008, must have at least £2m in investment funds and have a UK bank account. It has been under review due to repeated [...]
Lazy parallels between Ukraine and Taiwan’s plight only help Putin and Xi February 17, 2022 Beijing is watching developments in Ukraine with an eager eye. It has key economic interests at stake and a shared goal with Russia in undermining Western soft power and liberal institutions. It also has an economic interest, with Russia relying on China to bail it out if the West does impose harsh economic sanctions. In [...]
Ukraine: UK claims Russia has moved troops into ‘attack areas’ February 16, 2022 Russia has begun to move its troops into “attack areas” on the Ukrainian border despite the Kremlin’s claims that it is pulling back its soldiers, UK defence secretary Ben Wallace has said. Wallace, speaking from Nato’s headquarters in Brussels today, told Times Radio he had seen “some movement of Russian military forces from sort of [...]
Russia prepared to re-route gas flows if punished with sanctions February 16, 2022 Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov has warned the country could shift supplies to other markets if it is hit with sanctions.
EU President: Europe can deal with partial disruption to Russian gas flows February 16, 2022 The EU could cope with a partial disruption to gas imports from Russia, argued commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
Explainer-in-brief: Is there hope on the Ukrainian border? February 16, 2022 Yesterday morning it seemed like a pressure valve had been released, even if just slightly when Russia announced it was “withdrawing” some troops who had been carrying out “drills” on the Ukrainian border. After weeks of escalating tensions and a constant flow of European leaders travelling to Moscow to demand Vladimir Putin back down, it [...]
Kremlin-linked Russian money laundered in London: UK should ‘get its house in order on dirty Russian cash’ February 16, 2022 Boris Johnson’s government needs to “get its house in order” if it is serious about tackling “dirty money” from Russia coming into the UK, Keir Starmer has said. The Labour leader also called for the Government to “go now and go hard” with sanctions against Russia, as he said the Prime Minister should return all [...]
Global markets snap back as Russia-Ukraine tensions thaw February 15, 2022 Global markets have snapped back from a bruising session yesterday driven by a thawing of Russia-Ukraine tensions. A glimpse of a pathway to a deal to avoid a war in eatern Europe sent London’s premier FTSE 100 index soaring nearly one per cent, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index advanced 1.06 per cent. Although not [...]
Crude Awakening: The necessity of oil and gas in the green transition February 15, 2022 Oil and gas have a role to play in the energy mix of developed economies, even as the world transitions to renewable energy sources.