Archives for January 2021

Washington cannot order the entire nation which gas it should purchase, the ex-chancellor said in an interview with German regional daily the Rheinische Post.

“They [the US] certainly want to sell their own gas extracted by fracking technologies, which is unsustainable, expensive and rather worse compared to the piped natural gas in terms of quality,” Schroeder said.

Also on rt.com Halting Nord Stream 2 construction may result in legal battle, German minister warns

According to the former politician, who currently chairs the boards of Russian state oil firm Rosneft and Nord Stream 2 AG, the debated pipeline project is an investment in the future that will provide security for the next generations since Germany is planning to totally halt nuclear power plants as well as coal burning.

He added that opinion on Nord Stream 2 among Germans radically differs from the beliefs that are often distributed by published news sources.According to Schroeder, “bashing Russia doesn’t express a major opinion.”

The pipeline is being constructed by a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom in close cooperation with several European energy majors.

The gas route, which runs under the Baltic Sea, is set to double the existing pipeline’s capacity of 55 billion cubic meters annually via two 1.2km lines. The pipeline goes to Germany through the maritime territories of Russia, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Also on rt.com Germany may tax American gas imports in response to US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 pipeline

The project has been repeatedly blasted by the US, which wants to carve out a niche for sales of American liquified natural gas in the European energy market. While claiming that Nord Stream 2 would deepen Europe’s energy dependence on Russia, the White House has taken several major steps to derail construction of the pipeline, threatening the companies involved in it with sanctions.

The looming restrictions forced several Gazprom contractors to ditch Nord Stream 2. The first firm to withdraw the works was a Swiss-based offshore contractor Allseas. Over the past month, Norwegian certifier Det Norske Veritas–Germanischer Lloyd (DNV GL) and Dutch consulting group Ramboll announced plans to sever ties with the project. One of the largest insurers in Switzerland, the Zurich Insurance Group, also stopped cooperation with the Nord Stream 2 amid US sanctions pressure.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/514127-schroeder-nord-stream-germany-security/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The report presented to Parliament on Friday projects the country’s real GDP to reach record growth of 11 percent from April 2021 through March 2022. It also forecasts nominal GDP to grow by 15.4 percent, the highest since independence.

However, economists still see a contraction of 7.7 percent for the full fiscal year, with a V-shaped recovery in the next. The Indian economy, which has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, shrank an unprecedented 23.9 percent in April-June.

Also on rt.com India to overtake China as world’s fastest-growing major economy in 2021

India will reportedly reap the ‘lockdown dividend’ from the well-timed preventive measures New Delhi adopted at the outbreak of the pandemic. Moreover, stable macroeconomic conditions are bolstered by a strong national currency, blooming foreign exchange reserves that climbed to a new high of $586.08 billion as of January 8, and positive signs in the manufacturing sector output.

“The scores of lives that have been saved and the V-shaped economic recovery that is being witnessed – due to the causal impact of initial lockdown – bear testimony to India’s boldness in taking short-term pain for long-term gain,” the survey reads.

Fiscal and monetary support provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also helped in the recovery, according to the report.

Also on rt.com India has capacity to strengthen global supply chains – PM Modi

Net exports turned positive in the first half of the year with a larger contraction in imports of 29.1 percent compared to a contraction in exports of 10.7 percent. With the gradual recovery of economic activity, both imports and exports have picked up and net exports are expected to re-enter negative territory in the second half.

Economists expect the agricultural sector to cushion the pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy with growth of 3.4 percent. The share of the sector in overall GDP will reportedly increase to 19.9 percent from 17.8 percent, fixed in 2019-20 fiscal year.

Meanwhile, mining is forecasted to shrink by 12.4 percent, manufacturing – by 9.4 percent, construction – by 12.6 percent. Within the service sector, trade, hotels, transport and communication are estimated to contract by 21.4 percent.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/514117-india-economy-v-shaped-recovery/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

In December alone, Russian producers turned out 2.85 million tons, which was up 1.4 percent on the year and 5.8 percent on November, Rosstat also reported.

Russia is a relative newcomer on the LNG market but has already staked a solid claim, eyeing a market share of 25 percent in the medium term, Deputy Prime Minister and former Energy Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this month in an interview with news outlet RBC.

Meanwhile, thanks to its abundant natural gas reserves, the country has quickly become the world’s fourth-largest LNG exporter, after Qatar, Australia, and the United States. Most of Russia’s LNG comes from the Yamal LNG project, majority owned and operated by Novatek.

Also on rt.com Russia plans earliest-ever shipment of Arctic LNG to Asia

Despite its ambitious plans for liquefied natural gas, Russia, like other exporters, felt the pinch of lower demand amid the coronavirus epidemic, with LNG exports falling sharply in 2020 from 2019. Now that demand is beginning to improve, Novatek and Russia’s second LNG producer, Gazprom, will likely see higher shipments, especially to Asia, where demand for the fuel is most likely to rebound quickly and start growing.

In fact, Novatek expects the LNG market to swing into a deficit of 150 million tons annually by 2030 because of the delay or cancellation of final investment decisions on new capacity, a move in response to the pandemic’s effect on energy demand.

Yet the possibility of natural gas as a whole falling out of favor because of the energy transition and “falling out of the equation is grossly overstated,” Novatek’s CFO Mark Gyetvay said, as quoted by Argus this week.

In fact demand for LNG will likely grow along with global renewable energy capacity thanks to coal phase-outs and plans for much greater hydrogen production, Gyetvay said at the virtual European Gas Conference.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/514109-russian-lng-production-rise/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The story of the American video game retailer went viral after a group of Reddit users launched a flash-mob, gobbling up the firm’s shares. The campaign resulted in GameStop’s stock price growing over 1,800 percent.

The move washed billions of dollars out of the biggest hedge funds, which were short-selling the stock. Short-sellers commonly borrow shares in failing companies, hoping that, as the price falls further, they’ll sell the borrowed shares cheaper, pay back their lenders, and keep the profit.

Also on rt.com Is trust in the free market system shot after Robinhood cut off GameStop trading? RT’s Boom Bust digs into a Wall Street scandal

RT talked to market analysts to find out what impact the battle of amateur traders and big investors may have on the financial markets and who will come out on top.

“This all-in wrestling will meet with mixed success,” Petr Pushkarev, chief analyst at TeleTrade told RT. “Sooner or later, financial sharks will win, as big hedge fund managers don’t want lose billions due to flash-mobs.”

The expert highlighted that the US authorities would protect the interests of big investors. The latest artificially accelerated rally has already attracted the attention of US regulators and politicians who took steps to promptly halt trading.

“The financial Gulliver will definitely try hard to teach the mob of Lilliputs a lesson, to cause painful losses compared to super-profits gained by the lucky participants of this game,” he said.

Also on rt.com Occupy Wall Street 2.0: ‘This time, activists intend to DESTROY the system from within’ – Max Keiser explains GameStop frenzy

US regulators may outlaw such flash-mob activity by amateur investors in the future, according to senior analyst at Forex Optimum, Aleksander Rozman.

“They will find the ‘guilty party’, accuse them of driving up prices of GameStop shares, and punish them publicly,” the expert said, stressing that a scapegoat has already appeared.

Earlier, Reuters reported that a 34-year-old YouTube streamer helped drive a surge in the shares of GameStop. Keith Patrick Gill is a financial advisor from Massachusetts and until recently worked for insurance giant MassMutual.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/514061-wall-street-sharks-gamestop-win/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Xiaomi demanded that it be removed from the list on Friday, telling a Washington, DC district court that the decision to put it there was “unlawful and unconstitutional,” Reuters reported. It insisted it had no connection to the People’s Liberation Army, pointing to a “substantial number” of American citizens that have major stakes in the company, with US-based financial firms making up three of its top 10 investors.

The company was added to the blacklist along with eight other firms last month in the waning days of the Donald Trump administration, which required all American investors to pull their money out of the companies by a deadline of November 11, 2021.

Also on rt.com War on Chinese tech is a way for the US to continue spying on YOU and the rest of the world unchallenged

Addressed to US President Joe Biden’s nominees to lead the Pentagon and the Treasury, Lloyd Austin and Janet Yellen, the complaint also said the investment ban would cause “immediate and irreparable harm to Xiaomi.”

“The company’s strategic relationships with US financial institutions – critical for Xiaomi to continue to access the capital it needs to continue to grow in a highly competitive market – will be significantly damaged,” the court filing said.

“Moreover, the public association of Xiaomi with the Chinese military will significantly impair the company’s standing with business partners and consumers, causing reputational harms that cannot be readily quantified or easily repaired.”

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/514101-xiaomi-sues-pentagon-blacklist/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The Dow shed just over 620 points as markets closed on Friday, sinking more than 2 percent, while the NASDAQ and SP 500 saw similar losses, declining 2.7 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. All three benchmarks dropped by more than 3 percent since Monday, seeing their worst week in three months.

The significant declines come as a horde of online traders continue to shovel money into a group of heavily shorted stocks – among them GameStop, Nokia, BlackBerry and AMC – aiming to inflict massive losses on Wall Street hedge funds who bet on the companies’ demise. The buying frenzy, what some have dubbed the ‘Reddit Rebellion,’ has already forced major funds to spend in excess of $70 billion to cover their shorted stocks, $20 billion on GameStop alone as of Friday.

While GameStop’s meteoric rise was set back on Thursday after online trading app Robinhood froze purchases in what it called “risk mitigation,” even force-selling some users’ shares, the game retailer was back up on Friday after the platform resumed “limited” trading, rocketing by more than 67 percent. AMC’s value also soared some 54 percent for the day, though both BlackBerry and Nokia fell by around 3 percent, at the tail-end of a rollercoaster week for all four stocks.

Also on rt.com Robinhood CEO accused of ‘lying’ on CNN after claiming he halted stock purchases to adhere to vague ‘regulatory requirements’

The unprecedented short squeeze has triggered concerns that the effects will surge through the financial markets, forcing the hedge funds who bet against the stocks to sell off other securities to raise cash. However, some analysts have argued that the pain on Wall Street is long in the making, with RT’s Max Keiser dubbing the grassroots buying craze as “Occupy Wall Street Part 2.”

“This time, the activists are inside the system, and they have the capital and the intention to destroy it from within,” Keiser said.

The fraud on Wall Street that’s been building for many years got so incredibly out of hand, and it got so obvious, that it caught the attention of social media day-traders, who pounced on a hedge fund’s vulnerability – from engaging in too much fraud – and they killed it.

Also on rt.com ‘An exciting opportunity’: Robinhood mocked after posting listing for lobbyist in DC amid GameStop saga

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/514097-dow-620-points-gamestop/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Robinhood users angrily took to Twitter to display screenshots indicating the app was blocking them from buying more than a single stock of some companies. The trading lockdown on Friday wasn’t limited to GameStop ($GME) – users were posting similar shots of failed efforts to trade other stocks of companies that seemed to have a richer future than a brick-and-mortar video game store.

Several screenshotted their frustrations at trying to buy Churchill Capital Investment (CCIV), which is reportedly poised to merge with luxury electric vehicle company Lucid Motors. If the merger goes through, its value could hit $15 billion – but that doesn’t matter for traders using an app that won’t let them buy the stock.

It turned out Robinhood is restricting a whopping 50 stocks, with the number of shares retail traders can buy on that list ranging from 1 to 5.

The app even restricted trading in cryptocurrencies, citing “extraordinary market conditions” on Friday – and presumably chasing away its last few customers to competitors like WeBull and more established trading accounts like Schwab and Fidelity.

Robinhood quickly became the most hated app on the internet this week, after it shut down trading in $GME, one-time smartphone pioneer BlackBerry ($BB), and theater operator AMC ($AMC). Day-traders on Reddit’s WallStreetBets subreddit drove up the prices of those stocks, locking insanely wealthy hedge funds into untenable short positions even though the companies themselves were worth a mere fraction of their spiked market valuation.

Amid the laments of billionaires and well-heeled financial gurus claiming they’d been unfairly targeted by the unwashed masses, Robinhood – partially owned by hedge fund Citadel, which lost heaps of money amid the GME drama – has been accused of coming to the rescue of its ruling-class backers by preventing further trades in stocks beloved by WallStreetBets.

Also on rt.com ‘It stinks of corruption’: Texas AG calls out Robinhood, Discord, Citadel and others over GameStop stock throttling

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has taken to CNBC and CNN to deny that, claiming that the decision was dictated by regulations, rather than hedge funds. This, however, failed to convince the furious users – and he failed to provide any details to prove his point.

Angry traders swarmed the app’s Google reviews page, only for Google to remove hundreds thousands of negative ratings on Friday.  A class action lawsuit against Robinhood was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. Attorneys-general of New York and Texas are reportedly looking into Robinhood and other companies over their conduct in limiting stock buys.

The whole saga even briefly brought American politicians together, as New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded answers from Robinhood and Texas Republican Ted Cruz offered to help. However, that moment didn’t last long, as AOC did not wish to appear sympathetic to Cruz, who she claimed had tried to “get her killed” by voting against the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory. 

Also on rt.com Occupy Wall Street 2.0: ‘This time, activists intend to DESTROY the system from within’ – Max Keiser explains GameStop frenzy

Even CNN’s Chris Cuomo – who apparently worked in finance in the past – went after the Robinhood CEO during his interview, refusing to allow Tenev to dazzle him with investment jargon. As Tenev insisted shutting down trading was necessary to “comply with financial requirements,” Cuomo called him out for the “stinky conflict” of interest between Robinhood and Citadel.

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Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/514096-gamestop-robinhood-share-limit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS