Category: Highlights

The new windfall tax on profits of oil and gas companies in the UK is expected to cost the medium-sized North Sea-focused companies a total of $3.3 billion through 2025, according to investment bank Jefferies. Following months of rumors and indecision, the UK government announced last week a 25% Energy Profits Levy, commonly referred to as a “windfall tax”, as part of a package to ease the cost-of-living crisis stemming from huge rises in household energy bills. The move has long been opposed by the industry, which argued that a windfall…

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Rising energy prices and boxing Russian crude oil out of the global market risks a global recession, Bank of America’s head of global commodities and derivatives research Francisco Blanch warned in a recent research note. “Can the global economy continue to expand with tightening oil supplies? Our estimates suggest that the world can handle a total disruption of just about 2mn b/d of Russian oil without risking a global recession,” the note cautioned. In 2023, BoA sees oil demand approaching pre-Covid levels—but only if Russia’s crude oil and condensate production…

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Russia is under sanctions and has not responded to the letter written to it by the previous government, but we have asked either Ukraine or Russia, whichever country can sell us wheat, we would be happy to buy wheat from them,” said Ismail in an interview with CNN. Ismail said the previous PTI government wrote a letter to the Russian Federation, “which was never responded to”. “Russia has also not offered us any oil. I mean it is difficult for me to imagine buying Russian oil.” If Russia offers Pakistan…

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While US cash markets are closed today, the rest of the world – as well as US futures – are busy levitating amid renewed optimism that China has finally managed to contain its latest Covid breakdown after Beijing said the outbreak is now under control and the country eased more virus curbs. The upside momentum was also boosted by the best week on Wall Street since November 2020, which was catalyzed by speculation that the Fed will pause its hiking plans in September (and then proceed to ease once the…

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Russia’s finance chief said Moscow is planning a new system for making foreign bond payments similar to the rubles-for-gas scheme in an effort to prevent a historic sovereign default after Washington ended a key sanctions exemption that raised Russia’s chances of defaulting on its debt. Anton Siluanov, Russia’s finance minister, was cited by Vedomosti on May 30 as saying that the new system that is in the works would basically mirror the one in place that lets foreign buyers of Russian natural gas settle the transactions without falling afoul of…

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