DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Supreme Court case may gut the CFPB: Consumer watchdog's ‘future is on the line,’ group says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Visitors walk across the U.S. Supreme Court plaza on the first day of the court's new session on Oct. 2, 2023. Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesWhy the CFPB's funding may be unconstitutionalThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau headquarters in Washington. Lawmakers created the federal agency to protect consumers from predatory financial practices. The Supreme Court ruled against the agency in a 2020 case, Seila Law v. CFPB, finding part of its structure to be unconstitutional but ultimately keeping the agency intact. Instead, the CFPB's funding isn't authorized by Congress each year.

Persons: Bill Clark, Washington . Samuel Corum, Dodd, Frank, —, John Coleman, Orrick, Coleman, Rohit Chopra, Tom Williams Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Cq, Inc, Getty, Financial, Bloomberg, Lawmakers, U.S ., Appeals, Circuit, Congress, Federal Reserve, 5th Circuit, Congressional Research Service, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Realtors Locations: Washington .

☆ Burkina Faso: Four officers arrested after thwarted coup attempt, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Martin Goillandeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Four army officers were arrested in Burkina Faso, a military prosecutor said, a day after the country’s ruling military junta announced it had thwarted a coup attempt. Two other officers were “on the run,” according to a statement from the public prosecutor’s office at the military court in Ouagadougou, the capital city. Burkina Faso’s military junta said in an earlier statement that intelligence and security services had foiled a “proven coup attempt” on Wednesday. “A number of officers and other alleged actors involved in this destabilization attempt have been arrested, while others are being actively sought,” the statement said. Earlier this month, Burkina Faso’s military leaders signed a mutual defense pact with the juntas in Mali and Niger.

Persons: Captain Ibrahim Traore, “, ”, Traore Organizations: CNN, Junta Locations: Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, Burkina, West African, Mali, Niger, Sahel

☆ One of Ukraine's strongest allies says it will no longer supply Kyiv with weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kacper Pempel | ReutersPoland has said it will no longer supply its neighbor Ukraine with weapons, as a rift over agricultural exports deepens. Jonathan Ernst | ReutersWarsaw has been one of Kyiv's staunchest allies since mutual foe Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Poland has donated a wide range of weaponry to Kyiv, from modern Leopard 2 tanks to Soviet-era fighter jets, as well as delivering military training to Ukraine's armed forces. A Polish farmer during an April 12, 2022 protest against Ukrainian grain imports, which have lowered prices for crops in Poland. In happier times: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki embrace during a joint news briefing on a day of the first anniversary of Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 24, 2023.

Persons: Kacper Pempel, Mateusz Morawiecki, Morawiecki, Kamala Harris, Jonathan Ernst, Kyiv's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pawel Jablonski, Attila Husejnow, Yulia Svyridenko, Svyridenko, Volodymyr Zelensky, Viacheslav Ratynskyi Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Google, Polska Agencja, Poland's, U.S, White, Washington , D.C, World Trade Organization, United Nations, General Assembly, Kyiv, UN, Assembly, CNBC, EU, Solidarity, European Commission, Slovakia —, WTO, Warsaw, Polish Locations: Europe, France, U.S, Poland, Piskie, Orzysz, Reuters Poland, Ukraine, Kyiv, Warsaw, Washington ,, Reuters Warsaw, Russia, Soviet, Moscow, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Polish, Bratislava, Budapest, Ukrainian

☆ House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing next week on repealing the law that made the 2003 Iraq invasion possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing next Thursday on AUMFs. That tees up a potential repeal of the more than 20-year-old law, which authorized the Iraq war. The Senate easily passed a bill to do just that earlier this year, but it's stalled in the House. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe effort to repeal the Iraq war powers has been stalled for months in the House, largely owing to the opposition of defense-minded Republicans on key committees. But dozens of House Republicans also voted for the bill.

Persons: it's, Leslie Shedd, Ken Buck, Gregory Meeks, Saddam Hussein Organizations: Foreign Affairs, Senate, Service, Iraq, Caucus, House Republicans, Republican Rep, Democratic, Democrats, Republicans, ISIS Locations: Iraq, Wall, Silicon, United States, Colorado, New York

Two weeks after replacing its defense minister, Ukraine dismissed all six of its deputy ministers on Monday, deepening the housecleaning at a ministry that had drawn criticism for corruption in procurement as the military budget ballooned during the war. Mr. Zelensky is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in person on Tuesday in New York, and later in the week to meet with President Biden and members of Congress in Washington in his ongoing efforts to shore up support for military aid. He is expected to argue that defending Europe’s borders from an expansionist Russia in Ukraine serves Western interests in preventing a wider war and the destabilization of the European Union. In Ukraine’s fight to take back territory seized by the Russian invasion, the chain of command for battlefield decisions runs directly from Mr. Zelensky to the military’s uniformed general staff, largely bypassing the civilians at the defense ministry, so the turnover is not expected to have an immediate effect on the course of the war. The ministry’s role is primarily not in tactics but logistics — procurement, salaries and benefits — where changes may not be felt right away.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky’s, Zelensky, Biden Organizations: United Nations General Assembly, European Union Locations: Ukraine, United States, New York, Washington, Russia, Western, Russian

CNN —Lampedusa has seen an influx of migrants with 7,000 people arriving in two days, prompting its mayor and the United Nations refugee agency to warn the Italian island is becoming overwhelmed. Alessandro Serranò/AFP/Getty ImagesMigrants from a migrant housing centre on Lampedusa are guided by a security official. The island of Lampedusa is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants. “The over 130 operators and volunteers of the Italian Red Cross are doing beyond the impossible to ensure basic necessities. However, Flavio Di Giacomo, from IOM, said the number of arrivals in Lampedusa now was much higher than before.

Persons: CNN — Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, ” “, ” Mannino, agency’s, San Marino, Chiara Cardoletti, ” Cardoletti, Lampedusa, Alessandro Serranò, Gerard Darmanin, Darmanin, “, ”, ” Darmanin, Rosario Valastro, ” Valastro, Flavio Di Giacomo, Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, Giorgia Meloni’s, Ursula Von der Leyen Organizations: CNN, United Nations, RTL, UN, UNHCR, International Organization for Migration, Getty, European Union and, Red Cross Italy, Interior Ministry, Libyan Coast Guard, Italy’s, Infrastructure, Italy’s Foreign Press Association, EU, RAI Locations: Africa, Italy, San, Tunisia, Libya, AFP, Germany, Lampedusa, Ventimiglia, Menton, Great Britain, European Union and Great Britain, Europe, Meloni, Brussels

Western officials saw the summit with North Korea as an effort by Putin to secure a potential arms bonanza for his military. North Korea also could increase its ammunition production at Russia’s behest. Yang Uk, a security expert at South Korea’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies, noted that in addition to Soviet-designed armaments, North Korea also could share some of its latest military equipment. “There isn’t really much left in the policy toolbox in terms of addressing the challenges specifically from Russia and North Korea,” Park observed. It’s just basically not implementing sanctions.”A major factor Russia needs to consider while it seeks to expand ties with North Korea is China, Pyongyang's No.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Putin, Kim, Josef Stalin, Kim Il Sung, ”, John Park, Harvard Kennedy, it’s, James O’Brien, James Nixey, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “, Yang Uk, ” Yang, Leif, Eric Easley, “ Putin, ” Nixey, Antonio Guterres, “ It’s, It’s, Danica Kirka, Emma Burrows, Kim Tong, hyung, Kim Hyung Organizations: North, Putin, Harvard, U.S . State Department, Chatham House, South Korea’s Asan Institute, Policy Studies, Ewha University, U.S, Observers, Associated Press Locations: Pyongyang, Ukraine, Moscow, Asia, Korean, Korea, Russia, North Korea, ”, “, Eurasia, London, U.S, Central, Eastern Europe, South Korea’s, Soviet, Vostochny, Seoul, China, South Korea, Europe, Washington, russia, ukraine

☆ Yevgeny Prigozhin: Where in the world is the Wagner warlord?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Nathan Hodge | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

It was a stark contrast to the fate of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner. Back in June, Prigozhin led the abortive mutiny that presented the biggest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in over two decades of rule. Speaking after Wagner fighters relocated to Belarus, Prigozhin suggested he remained focused on this core African market. In a recent Telegram message, Prigozhin hinted that Wagner might be ready to offer its services there. “And this is the (the reason for the) love for PMC Wagner, this is the high efficiency of PMC Wagner.

Persons: Alexey Navalny, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Prigozhin hasn’t, –, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Andrei Kelin, Kelin, “, ” Kelin, Vladimir, Kara, Murza, … Prigozhin, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Candace Rondeaux, Rondeaux, it’s, ” Rondeaux, Mateusz Morawiecki, Morawiecki, ” Prigozhin, Sudan –, PMC Wagner, Mohamed Bazoum, Tatiana Stanovaya Organizations: CNN, Central African Republic, Kremlin, Amanpour, Putin’s, NATO, Polish, Wagner Group, PMC Wagner, PMC, Russian Foreign Ministry, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Putin Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Africa, St . Petersburg, Orchestra_W, United Kingdom, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, America, Prigozhin, Putin’s Russia, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Sudan, Libya, Niger, Putin Russia

☆ Gaslighting: What it really is and how to address it
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The concept of gaslighting originated from the 1944 film “Gaslight” and the 1938 play on which it was based. Signs you’re being gaslitThere are other common misconceptions about the nature of gaslighting, experts said. What pushes these behaviors into gaslighting territory has to do with what the person you’re dealing with says and their intentions behind it. The degree to which a person gaslights someone else can vary, but gaslighting is always emotional abuse, whether intentional or not, experts said. Talking to a therapist can help you get an objective perspective and see more clearly any signs of gaslighting behavior and psychological abuse, Kennedy said.

Persons: Jonah Hill, Sarah Brady, Webster, we’re, ‘, ”, Vanessa Kennedy, Monica Vermani, Gaslighting, ” Vermani, —, Vermani, Kennedy, “, she’s, ” Kennedy, — that’s, don’t, Duygu Balan, ” Balan, gaslighting, I’m, ’ ” Kennedy Organizations: CNN, Merriam Locations: Texas, Canada, San Francisco Bay

☆ Opinion: Whatever happened to Mutually Assured Destruction?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On June 14, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced that his country had taken delivery of the first of a collection of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia. Belarus has both a nuclear arsenal and a president who for decades has quietly played the role of Putin’s lap dog. And indeed, in a press conference Thursday in Minsk, he did claim to being in lockstep with Putin — adding that the nuclear weapons were for defensive purposes only. In the same press conference, Lukashenko nodded to the fact that those nuclear weapons were under Russia’s control. “In the early ’60s American officials worried that the Soviet Union would launch a less-than-all-out attack, reasoning that the US would not respond in a way that might trigger Armageddon,” he said.

Persons: David A, David Andelman, Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, Ukraine’s Leonid Kuchma, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Lukashenko nodded, “, Joe Biden, Jens Stoltenberg, Kaja Kallas, Stoltenberg, nukes, Izumi Nakamitsu, Donald Trump, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken, crouch, ” Michael Mandelbaum, ”, Mandelbaum, – Vladimir Putin, hewing Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Soviet Union, Warsaw, David Andelman CNN, NATO, Belarus, Ukraine, Security Council, Nuclear Forces, Treaty, Twitter, Facebook, Johns Hopkins School, International, American Foreign, Power, MAD Locations: Russia, Europe, Soviet, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Crimea, Belarus, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Minsk, lockstep, Vilnius, Lithuania, Brussels, Moscow, Russian

☆ Timeline: What Led to the Standoff Between Russia and Prigozhin
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Gaya Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Wagner mercenary leader who conducted a brief rebellion against the Russian military, had been a loyal supporter of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. In recent months, he continued to steer clear of directly criticizing Mr. Putin, even as he increasingly used social media to lambaste Russia’s military, accusing its leaders of treason and blaming them for failing to provide his forces with enough resources. Mr. Putin mobilized Russian troops to quell what he called an armed rebellion, and the Belarusian president, a Putin ally, negotiated a halt to the Wagner advance. Here’s a look at Mr. Prigozhin’s history and some of the claims he has made:December 2016The United States imposed sanctions against 15 Russian entities, including Mr. Prigozhin, for their dealings in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists seized territory the same year. The Treasury Department targeted businesspeople who were associates of Mr. Putin or were involved in activities that aided in Russia’s destabilization of Ukraine.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Wagner, Vladimir V, Putin, Putin’s, Prigozhin, Mr Organizations: Russian, Treasury Department, Russia’s Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov, Moscow, Belarusian, United States, Crimea, Russia’s destabilization

☆ The 8 stocks most favored by a fund manager who beat 93% of his peers last year, plus the 4 indicators that he says could signal a downward turn in 2023's stock market rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Michael Cuggino, the president and portfolio manager of the Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds, says the current economic situation is a tale of two sides. The firm has two fixed-income funds, an aggressive growth equities fund, and a diversified fund known as the Permanent Portfolio that has been around since 1982. Last year, the permanent portfolio fund outperformed 93% of similar funds, according to Morningstar data. So far this year, it has been the growth stocks that are benefiting. The top four signals he's keeping an eye on are, first, a rapid increase in the unemployment rate, which would hit consumer spending and permeate other parts of the economy.

Persons: Michael Cuggino, Cuggino, It's, it's Charles Schwab Organizations: Federal, Morningstar, Companies, BHP Group, Exxon, Chevron, Nvidia, Broadcom, Apple Locations: Freeport, McMoRan, Australia

☆ Water wars: Afghanistan and Iran's deadly border flare-up spotlights scarcity crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kajaki Hydroelectric Dam in Kajaki, Afghanistan in the Helmand province on June 4, 2018 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Iranian and Afghan border guards clashed on May 27, exchanging heavy gunfire that killed two Iranian guards and one Taliban soldier and wounded several others. A dangerous borderThe 580-mile border between Afghanistan and Iran is porous and crawling with crime, predominantly coming from the Afghan side into Iran. "Iran's Afghan border has always been its most vulnerable," said Kamal Alam, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. In the 1950s, Afghanistan built two major dams that limited the flow of water from the Helmand river into Iran.

Persons: Maplecroft, Wakil Kohsar, Soltvedt, Kamal Alam, Alam, Ryan Bohl, Rane, Ebrahim Raisi, Yamil Lage Organizations: Orbital, Copernicus Sentinel, Getty Images, CNBC, Taliban, Afp, Getty, Asia Center, East Locations: Kajaki, Afghanistan, Helmand, Getty Images Iran, Iran, Tehran, destabilization, East, North Africa, Afghan, Zaranj, Iran's, Khuzestan, Nimruz, Helmand Province, Sistan, Baluchistan, Havana, Cuba

[1/5] Kosovo police officers guard near the village of Bare, Kosovo, June 14, 2023. Three Kosovo police officers were detained by Serbian forces on Wednesday but officials from Kosovo and Serbia gave different locations for the arrest, accusing each other of crossing the border illegally.... Read morePRISTINA/BELGRADE, June 14 (Reuters) - Three Kosovo police officers were detained by Serbian forces on Wednesday but officials from Kosovo and Serbia gave different locations for the arrest, accusing each other of crossing the border illegally. "The entry of Serbian forces into the territory of Kosovo is aggression and aimed at escalation and destabilization," Kurti wrote on his Facebook page. But Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic said the three were arrested "as far as 1.8 kilometers (1 mile)" inside Serbian territory near the village of Gnjilica. In 1999, a NATO bombing campaign drove Serbian security forces out of Kosovo but Belgrade continues to regard it as a southern province.

Persons: Read, Albin Kurti, Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Ivana Sekularac, Aleksandar Vasovic, Frank Jack Daniel, Jonathan Oatis, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean Organizations: Kosovo, Serbian, Reuters, NATO, Thomson Locations: Bare, Kosovo, Serbia, PRISTINA, BELGRADE, Serbian, Gnjilica, Balkans, Belgrade

☆ Ukraine’s cross-border tactics are aimed at destabilizing Russia. Judging by the response, they’re working
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Sam Kiley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The operations of Russian citizens, carrying Ukrainian military ID, wearing Ukrainian uniforms and attacking from Ukraine, remain officially opaque. Back then, “Little Green Men” in peculiar two-tone sport-hunting uniforms – and Russian military fatigues – appeared in Crimea. The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom for Russia Legion – which fall under Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence structure – have been conducting short cross-border raids into Russia. Russia rattledIn Ukraine, it suits Kyiv to have Russians invade Russia on its behalf. Previous days with all the shelling - there was almost no response, no (Russian) military.

Persons: coy, what’s, “, fatigues –, Vladimir Putin, Moscow, Sergey Bobok, for Russia Legion –, –, Putin, it’s, ”, ” Putin, Prigozhin, Wagner, “ Wagner, Yulia Morozova, you’ve, ” Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Shebekino Organizations: CNN, Fighters, Russian Volunteer Corps, of Russia Legion, Getty, for Russia Legion, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, Frontline, Kremlin, Russian, Russian Federation, “ Wagner PMC, Russia, Kyiv, Reuters, Russian Telegram Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Crimea, Simferopol, Soviet, AFP, South, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Pretoria, destabilization, Belgorod –, Moscow, Kursk, Smelensk, Russian, St Petersburg, Soviet Union, Belgorod, Shebekino, “

☆ Opinion | Death and the City
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Thomas B. Edsall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

“Some have hypothesized that the rise in homicide rates is specifically a result of the June 2020 protests,” Chalfin and MacDonald wrote, but “theories about the role of the protests must contend with several challenges. The data also pinpoint the timing of the spikes to late May 2020, which corresponds with the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis and subsequent anti-police protests — protests that likely led to declines in law enforcement. Although unemployment caused by Covid surged in April, there was little if any increase in murders at that time. That is the challenge that every city should be grappling with. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

☆ Surprise resort trips and empty hotel rooms reveal how Russia's plan for an easy victory in Ukraine fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

While Russian intelligence services ramped up operations, the US intelligence community started declassifying intelligence about Russian plans. In an unprecedented move, the US revealed Russia's intentions and informed Kyiv about the Russian intelligence operations inside Ukraine. Once Russia's military secured the city, its special-operations forces would begin what the report calls "repressive operations." The Kremlin even compiled a target deck full of unwanted people to be "liquidated" once the Russian forces were in control of the country. Preparing the battlefieldA member of the Ukrainian military in front of a destroyed Antonov An-225 at the airport in Hostomel in July 2022.

☆ Russia wanted a quick victory in Ukraine, and it sent its spies after Ukrainian nuclear power plant workers to make it happen
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ukraine's nuclear power plants were a central part of Russia's plan to force Kyiv's capitulation. So when Russia started planning its invasion, Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure was a top target. According to the RUSI report, Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure "played a significant role" in Russia's invasion plan and in the Kremlin's public narratives about the conflict. Moscow's big planRussian military personnel at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in May 2022. Although Russian forces still control the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, that has not won the Kremlin any leverage over Kyiv.

Among major S&P 500 sectors, technology (.SPLRCT) has quarterly gains of about 20%, while the financials index (.SPSY) is set for its worst quarter since June. A closely watched Commerce Department report on Friday showed U.S. consumer spending rose moderately in February, while inflation also cooled. Limiting gains, Micron Technology (MU.O) dropped 2.7% after news that China was set to review the chipmaker's products sold in the country. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 5.73-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.76-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded 14 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 57 new highs and 98 new lows.

☆ Ukraine Warns Against Russian Threat to Put Nuclear Weapons in Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Ian Lovett | Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A top Ukrainian defense official accused the Kremlin of trying to make Belarus a “nuclear hostage” after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to put tactical nuclear weapons in the country. Oleksiy Danilov , Ukraine’s security council secretary, wrote on Twitter on Sunday that putting nuclear weapons in Belarus, a key Russian ally, would be “a step toward internal destabilization of the country.”

☆ NATO, world leaders condemn Russia's 'dangerous and irresponsible' nuclear rhetoric
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

NATO condemned Russia's "dangerous and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric Sunday after President Vladimir Putin shared plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The NATO spokesperson added that there have not been changes in Russia's nuclear posture that have caused NATO to adjust its own. He added that Putin has not suggested any intention to use nuclear weapons, "period," but that the U.S. is continuing to monitor the situation closely. He called Russia's announcement an "irresponsible escalation" and a threat to European security. "Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits that he is afraid of losing & all he can do is scare with tactics," he wrote.

☆ Ukraine slams Putin plan to station Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Making a statement about tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, he admits that he is afraid of losing & all he can do is scare with tactics," Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. Washington, the world's other nuclear superpower, played down concerns about Putin's announcement and the potential for Moscow to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. The official noted that Russia and Belarus had been speaking about the transfer of nuclear weapons for some time. However, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called Putin's announcement an extremely dangerous escalation. Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences," it said on Twitter.

☆ Putin has taken Belarus 'hostage' with Russian plans to station nuclear weapons in the country, says Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has taken Belarus as a "nuclear hostage," a top Ukrainian official said on Sunday. On Saturday, Putin announced plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in the country. On Saturday, Putin announced on Russian state television that he planned to build a storage facility in Belarus to hold tactical nuclear weapons. The Russian president said there is "nothing unusual" about his announcement, noting the US has "long deployed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allied countries," according to Reuters. Belarus and Russia have been long-time allies — and the former Soviet republic is generally seen as a Russian puppet state.

☆ Meta allowed a Kremlin-linked oligarch to run Facebook ads calling for uprisings against pro-Western government in Moldova
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Meta allowed a Moldovan oligarch, sanctioned by the US, to run paid Facebook ads, per AP. Meta removed the ads, but only after they reached an audience of millions. The paid Facebook ads featured oligarch Ilan Shor, who now lives in Israel after being convicted of massive financial fraud. In one ad, Shor, who heads the pro-Russia Shor Party, can be heard accusing Sandu's government of corruption. Moldova was rocked by mass protests late last year, which were organized by the Shor Party, the largest of which took place shortly after the ads were placed.

☆ Are we on the brink of a corporate credit crisis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Economists at S&P Global Ratings forecast that speculative-grade (perceived to have a lower level of credit quality compared to more highly rated, investment-grade, companies) corporate default rates in the US and Europe will double this year alone. So are we on the brink of a corporate credit crisis? Before the Bell spoke with Ruth Yang, managing director and global head of thought leadership at S&P Global Ratings to discuss what lies ahead for the corporate credit market. Before the Bell: What’s your big picture view of the credit economy right now? There will be slower growth with thinner margins and that’s going to change how people look at their investment opportunities.

Search resuls for: "Destabilization"

25 mentions found