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June 30 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble slumped to a more than 15-month low against the dollar and euro on Friday, weighed down by domestic political risk concerns after an aborted armed mutiny over the weekend and lacking support drivers. By 0734 GMT, the rouble was 0.8% weaker against the dollar at 88.26 after earlier hitting 88.6775, its weakest point since March 29, 2022. It lost 0.9% to trade at 95.97 versus the euro after also hitting a 15-month low of 96.3225. The rouble lost a key support factor on Wednesday as a month-end tax period that typically sees exporters convert foreign currency revenues to meet local liabilities passed. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index (.IMOEX) was 0.4% lower at 2,785.8 points.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin's, Alexander Marrow, Jamie Freed, Robert Birsel Organizations: Alor Broker, Gazprom, Thomson Locations: Russian, Alor, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Brent

☆ What next for Wagner? Russia’s Putin battles to regain control after short-lived revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Members of Wagner group looks from a military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don late on June 24, 2023. It marked what many regard as the greatest challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's authority in his more than two decades in power. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with servicemen at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 27, 2023. At best, Granville said the Wagner Group was likely to be "a shadow of its former self" in Ukraine following the revolt. Russia's political crisisRussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday dismissed questions about a political crisis.

Persons: Wagner, Roman Romokhov, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Tereshchenko, nationalize Wagner, Putin, Wagner Group's Prigiozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, that's, Pat Ryder, Faustin, BARBARA DEBOUT, Ryder, It's, Christopher Granville, Granville, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin Organizations: AFP, Getty, Wagner Group, Kremlin, Russian Ministry of Defense's, Wagner, Russian Armed Forces, Belarusian, Analysts, CNBC, Pentagon, Central African, TS Lombard, Reuters, Associated Press Locations: Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Europe, U.S, Russia, Asipovichy, Belarus, Belarusian, Africa, Syria, BANGUI, Central African Republic, Bangui, France, AFP, Russian

☆ Take Five: Summer strife
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

1/ TIME FOR SOME NON-FARMInvestors betting on resiliency of the U.S. economy have found solace in the solid labor market. Economists polled by Reuters expect 200,000 new jobs were created in June, a slowdown from recent monthly growth. The jobs report comes after the Federal Reserve skipped raising rates in June after lifting them at 10 straight meetings. No doubt central banks have had some success in quelling inflation with rate rises. Still with the inflation fight far from over, expect companies to now face greater scrutiny from policymakers and consumers alike.

Persons: Lewis Krauskopf, Kevin Buckland, Naomi Rovnick, Amanda Cooper, Karin Strohecker, Jerome Powell, Tuesday's, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Dhara Organizations: Reuters, Federal Reserve, CHINA BLUES, Societe Generale, The Reserve Bank of Australia, Aussie, Reuters Graphics Reuters, IMF, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Japan, Lewis, New York, Tokyo, London, U.S, Beijing, Ukraine, Russia

☆ What could break as interest rates rise?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Sweden, where rates rose again on Thursday, is one to watch with most homeowners' mortgages moving in lockstep with rates. Reuters Graphics2/ REAL ESTATE: PART 2Having taken advantage of the low rates era to borrow aplenty and buy up property assets, the commercial real estate sector is grappling with higher debt refinancing costs as rates rise. "The single most important thing is interest rates. But not just interest rates; what it is equally important is the predictability of rates," said Thomas Mundy, EMEA head of capital markets strategy at real estate firm JLL. "If we were settled on an interest rate, real estate prices could adjust.

Persons: Richard Portes, Thomas Mundy, Banks, Florian, Ielpo, Jerome Powell, Markus Allenspach, Julius Baer, Nick Kraemer, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Tina Fordham, Chiara Elisei, Naomi Rovnick, Nell Mackenzie, Karin Strohecker, Vincent Flasseur, Kripa Jayaram, Sumanta Sen, Pasit, Dhara Ranasinghe, Alison Williams Organizations: International Monetary Fund, Reuters, Federal, Finance, London Business School, Lombard, Federal Reserve, Casino, Sweden's SBB, Fordham Global Foresight, Thomson Locations: Britain, Norway, Russia, Sweden, lockstep, London's, City, RUSSIA, Ukraine

☆ There's blood in the water after Prigozhin's revolt shattered the façade of Putin's invincibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. It has also fed paranoia and put a spotlight on Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's ex-bodyguard turned governor. A brief and ultimately aborted attempt at a coup d'état by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. President Vladimir Putin (L) and Aleksey Dyumin, the governor of Tula and Putin's former personal bodyguard, in Moscow in 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Tula Governor Aleksey Dyumin visit Russian writer Lev Tolstoy's former home in 2016.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin —, Prigozhin, Vladimir Fesenko, trundling, Sergey Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, There's Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin, Belarus —, defenestration, Dyumin, Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Igor Girkin, Alexander Lukashenko —, Dyumin's, Dmitry Peskov, Boris Yeltsin, Viktor Yanukoyvch, Girkin, Andrei Gurulyov, Russia's, Lev Tolstoy's, Tatiana Stanovaya, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Zolotov, Zolotov, Alexander Lukashenko, Chris Weafer Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, Angry Patriots, Russia's First Channel, Prigozhin, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Central Bank, Washington Post, New York Times, Defense Ministry, Moscow Times, National Guard, Ministry, Macro Locations: Russian, Russia, Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Voronezh, Lipetsk, St, Petersburg, Minsk, Belarus, Russia's Tula, Kremlin, Tula, Dyumin's Tula, St Petersburg, Prigozhin, Crimea, Berlin, Novosibirsk, Osipovichi, Africa, Syria

☆ Rouble hits 15-month low past 87 vs dollar on political risk concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 29 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble weakened past 87 against the dollar to a 15-month low on Thursday, hampered by domestic political risk concerns after an aborted mutiny over the weekend, with market uncertainty fuelling demand for safe-haven assets. By 0823 GMT, the rouble was 0.7% weaker against the dollar at 86.96 <RUBUTSTN=MCX> having hit 87.47, its weakest point since March 29, 2022. The rouble lost a key support factor on Wednesday as a month-end tax period that typically sees exporters convert foreign currency revenues to meet local liabilities passed. "As we expected, the rouble fell at the end of the tax period, quite sharply, by around 1.5%," said Alor Broker in a note. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index (.IMOEX) was 0.8% higher at 2,804.0 points.

Persons: Russian rouble, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin's, Brent, Alexander Marrow, Christina Fincher, Jason Neely Organizations: Capital, Thomson Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Alor, Magnit

Wagner fighters took control of the southern port and logistical hub for Russia's war in Ukraine on Saturday morning. Facial recognition software linked him to an account on VKontakte, Russia’s Facebook equivalent, created in the name of Dmitry Chekov. Russian media reported last September that Prigozhin had visited prisones in Rostov region, recruiting more than 1,000 convicts for Wagner. The man was identified by facial recognition software as 33-year-old Sergei Shirshov, a native of the Volga River city of Saratov. A third Wagner fighter pictured in Rostov was identified by facial recognition software as Roman Yamalutdinov, a native of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia.

Persons: Wagner, Prigozhin Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin, Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Dmitry Chekov, Chekov's, Sergei Shirshov, Shirshov, Yamalutdinov, Olga Romanova, Felix Light, Filipp Lebedev, Guy Faulconbridge, Mike Collett, White, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Wagner Group, Don, Reuters, Belarusian, Facebook, TASS, Local, Penal, Thomson Locations: TBILISI, Russian, Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Bakhmut, Belarus, Volga, Saratov, Saratov region's, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Tbilisi

☆ Putin didn't kill Prigozhin after his revolt, but that doesn't mean he isn't trying to destroy the Wagner boss
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed revolt against Russian military leadership and survived. Members of Wagner group looks from a military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don late on June 24, 2023. Head of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin left the Southern Military District headquarters on June 24, 2023 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. And it could make Prigozhin into a martyr," English said, arguing that Putin is likely to seek out other ways to destroy Prigozhin. For individuals higher up in the mercenary organization considered responsible for the rebellion, people like Prigozhin, Russian leadership has hinted at unspecified consequences.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, —, Vladimir Putin's, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, It's, ROMAN ROMOKHOV, ISW, Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, Robert English, burnish, Prigozhin's Organizations: Russian, Service, Wagner Group, Getty, Institute for, Southern Military, Anadolu Agency, University of Southern, Wagner, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Belarus, Bakhmut, Rostov, AFP, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Don, University of Southern California, Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Prigozhin

☆ Ukraine says it caught a sleeper agent who sent video of a crowded restaurant to Russia before a deadly missile strike blew it apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk left several dead and dozens injured. Kyiv said it caught a Russian sleeper agent who was monitoring the restaurant before the strike. This photograph shows a restaurant in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, after a missile strike hit it on June 27, 2023. Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images'The russian agent will undoubtedly stand trial in a Ukrainian court. Search and rescue efforts continue after a Russian missile attack hit Ria Restaurant, popular place of meeting in the city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine on June 27, 2023.

Persons: —, GENYA SAVILOV, Wojciech Grzedzinski, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kramatorsk, Tuesday's, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Russian, GRU, Service, Security Service, Getty, Anadolu Agency, Russia's Locations: Ukrainian, Kramatorsk, Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine's Donetsk, Moscow, AFP, russia, Belarus

☆ A top Russian general knew Wagner was planning an uprising, NYT reports, suggesting an even deeper threat to Putin's power
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian general knew of Wagner was planning a rebellion against Putin, the NYT reported. Sergey Surovikin is a top commander in Russia's military, who led the invasion until he was demoted. Per the NYT, US officials want to know if others in the military considered joining the uprising. US officials are trying to find out whether General Sergey Surovikin — dubbed "General Armageddon" by Russian media — also helped plan the rebellion, according to The Times. Gerasimov and defense minister Sergei Shoigu are wildly unpopular among Russia's military.

Persons: Wagner, Putin, Sergey Surovikin, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Sergey Surovikin —, Vladimir Putin's, Prigozhin, General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Sergei Shoigu, Prigozhin's, Surovikin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, New York Times, The Times, Times, General Staff, Russia's Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Moscow, Russia, Belarus, Russia's

☆ Xi faces being humiliated by his 'no limits' friendship with Putin. But he can't back out of it now.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China's Xi Jinping has formed close ties with Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia. But the Wagner rebellion exposed that Putin's authority is shakier than Xi realised, an analyst told Insider. If Russia loses against Ukraine, Xi would face global humiliation. If there are further signs Putin's grip on power is weakening, and chaos could engulf Russia, Xi faces a tough choice. "It's unlikely that Xi will go out of his way to support Putin's regime if that entails significant risks to China itself.

Persons: China's, Jinping, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Wagner, Xi, —, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Graeme Thompson, Moscow —, Thompson, Jonathan Ward, Ward Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Ukraine, Eurasia Group, Reuters, Atlas Group, Russia, West, Beijing Locations: Russia, Ukraine, China, Moscow, Taiwan, Beijing

[1/2] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, June 26, 2023. Asian shares received a boost from Chinese Premier Li Qiang saying Beijing will roll out policies to boost China's economy. But the positive market sentiment faded in early European trading, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.4% by 1149 GMT (.STOXX). MSCI's Europe index (.MSER) was down 0.1%, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.3% and Germany's DAX declined 0.1% (.GDAXI). It hit a seven-month high against China's yuan as investors braced for the possibility of China doing more to support the currency.

Persons: Li Qiang, Germany's DAX, Hani Redha, Christine Lagarde, Analysts, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Michael Hewson, Shunichi Suzuki, Elizabeth Howcroft, Ed Osmond, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Staff LONDON, PineBridge Investments, U.S . Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Monetary, European Central Bank, Wagner Group, CMC Markets, U.S, ECB, U.S ., Finance, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Europe, United States, Beijing, Russia, U.S, China

Summary Oil prices rise early in second sessionPolitical instability in Russia adds to supply concernsHopeful expectations for summer driving season demand remainJune 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday, spurred by worries about political instability in Russia and possible supply disruptions, as well as U.S. demand hopes ahead of the summer driving season. Following the weekend's events, ANZ analysts said, the complacency among traders about Russian oil continuing to seep into the international market could no longer be assumed to the same extent. The challenge has fed questions about President Vladimir Putin's grip on power and some concern about possible disruption of Russian oil supply, although loadings have kept on schedule. Oil fell about 3.6% last week on worries that further interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve could sap demand as China's economic recovery disappoints investors. Traders were also watching for signs of a pickup in demand for transport fuels, such as gasoline, in the United States ahead of the peak summer driving season.

Persons: Brent, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Saudi Arabia's, Morgan, Stephanie Kelly, Trixie Yap, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, ANZ, Saudi, BMI Research, U.S . Federal, Traders, American Automobile Association, Global, American Petroleum Institute, Energy Information Administration, Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Rostov, Saudi Arabia, United States, U.S

☆ Asian stocks teeter as Russia, rates and China risks weigh
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Kane Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's gauge of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 0.08% at 0126 GMT, after dropping 0.06% an hour earlier. "Asian equities are set for a downturn on Tuesday, prompted by Wall Street's risk-aversion behavior," said Anderson Alves, a global macro analyst at ActivTrades. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended in the red on Monday, with megacap momentum stocks pulling the tech-heavy Nasdaq down the most. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 0.04%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.45% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.16%. Hang Seng Index (.HSI) and China's benchmark CSI300 Index (.CSI300) opened up 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, shaking off losses from the past four sessions.

Persons: Wall, Anderson Alves, Alves, Goldman Sachs, Redmond Wong, Wong, Vladimir Putin's, Brent, Kane Wu, Sam Holmes Organizations: Nikkei, ActivTrades, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, U.S, Global, China, Saxo Markets, Treasury, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Russia, Asia Pacific, Japan, Europe, U.S, ActivTrades, Asia

Flightradar24 showed an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet appeared in Rostov region at 0232 GMT and began a descent at 0420 GMT near Minsk. The identification codes of the aircraft match those of a jet linked by the United States to Autolex Transport which is linked to Prigozhin by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control. Under a deal mediated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday to halt a mutiny by Prigozhin's mercenary fighters, Prigozhin is meant to move to Belarus. Prigozhin, who has bragged about meddling in U.S. elections, said last week his fighting force was 25,000 strong. Speaking from the Kremlin on Monday, Putin vowed to stand by his promise to allow Wagner fighters to leave for Belarus, though he did not mention Prigozhin by name.

Persons: Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Flightradar24, Dmitry Peskov, Flightradar, Alexander Lukashenko, WAGNER'S, Prigozhin, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Russia's, Gleb Stolaryov, Guy Faulconbridge, Angus MacSwan, Jon Boyle Organizations: Belarus Russia, Prigozhin, Embraer, U.S . Office, Foreign Assets Control, Kremlin, Central African Republic, Federal Security Service, Thomson Locations: Belarus, Russia, Prigozhin MOSCOW, Prigozhin, Russian, Rostov, Minsk, United States, Belarusian, Africa, Central African, Mali, Ukraine, Kremlin

☆ After Wagner mutiny, jailed Kremlin critic Navalny asks who is the real extremist?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In tweets posted by his aides, Navalny said he had been allowed no radio or conversations in his penal colony since June 1. "Instead the prosecutor came in and we continued the trial in which I stand accused of forming an organization to overthrow President (Vladimir) Putin by violent means," Navalny said. He blamed Putin squarely for the mutiny by the Wagner mercenary force that was allowed to recruit hardened convicts in exchange for promises of pardon and that the president allowed to become powerful. Navalny is serving 11-1/2 years for fraud and contempt of court on charges that he says were trumped up to silence him. He is now on trial on charges including creation of an extremist organisation and making public appeals to commit extremist activity.

Persons: Alexei Navalny, Navalny, Read, Alexey Navalny, Wagner, Vladimir, Putin, Vladimir Putin's, Sergei, Shoigu, Kevin Liffey, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Court, ACF, Corruption, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia

☆ Putin ally says Wagner advanced so fast as focus was on defending Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, June 27 (Reuters) - One of President Vladimir Putin's allies said on Tuesday that mutineers from the Wagner mercenary group were able to advance so fast towards Moscow because forces loyal to the state had focused on bolstering the defences of the capital. But Viktor Zolotov, a close Putin ally and director of the National Guard, gave a different interpretation. Zolotov, 69, said he had been in constant contact with Putin on Friday and Saturday. The guards, he said, will in future be equipped with heavy weaponry and tanks after having to prepare to defend Russia's capital against the Wagner fighters. The National Guard, a force of more than 340,000, was set up in 2016 to ensure order and security alongside the police and security services.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Viktor Zolotov, Putin, Zolotov, Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail Gorbachev, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Renegade, National Guard, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Zolotov

☆ Live updates: Putin slams rebels as criminals; Zelenskyy lauds military advances 'in all directions'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The eyes of the world remain on Russia after Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's attempted mutiny on Saturday posed what many regard as the greatest challenge yet to President Vladimir Putin's two-decade grip on power. In a televised address to the nation on Monday, Putin called the organizers of the uprising "criminals" and vowed to bring them to justice. The revolt raised questions about President Vladimir Putin's grip on power and what could be next for the country. Stateside, President Joe Biden clarified on Monday that the United States was not involved in the aborted weekend rebellion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, called for further support from Western leaders to repel the Russian invasion.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Prigozhin, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Wagner Group, Kremlin, NATO Locations: Russia, Belarus, United States, Ukrainian, Ukraine

☆ Oil nudges higher as supply worries offset concerns about demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Oil wells are seen at an oil facility by the Highway 5 near Bakersfield in California, United States on November 27, 2022. Oil prices edged higher for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, as worries about political instability in Russia and potential supply disruptions counter-balanced concerns about global demand. Brent crude futures rose 6 cents to $74.24 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures gained 10 cents to $69.47 a barrel. The challenge has raised questions about President Vladimir Putin's grip on power and some concern about possible disruption of Russian oil supply. Oil fell around 3.6% last week on worries that further interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve could sap oil demand at a time when China's economic recovery has disappointed investors.

Persons: Brent, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, U.S . Federal Locations: Bakersfield, California, United States, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Rostov, Saudi, Oil

[1/5] Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a reception at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. After securing an unprecedented third term as president earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping made his first overseas trip to Moscow to meet his "dear friend" Putin. China "will be more cautious with its words and actions about Russia", said Shanghai-based international relations expert Shen Dingli. It was unclear if Yang's article was written before the Wagner rebellion and he did not respond to requests for an interview from Reuters. Other China-based academics, however, said Beijing would not change its stance on Russia as a result of the incident.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Pavel Byrkin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Shen Muhui, Alexander Neill, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Qin Gang, Putin, Shen Dingli, Yang Jun, Michal Meidan, Martin Quin Pollard, Yew, Tian, John Geddie, Alex Richardson Organizations: Kremlin, Sputnik, REUTERS, Moscow, U.S, Foreign, NATO, Beijing's China University of Political Science, Law, Reuters, The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, European Union, Putin's, Australian National University, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, China, Ukraine, Beijing, BEIJING, China's, Fujian, Singapore, United States, Shanghai, Japan, Putin's Russia

☆ Putin is facing a new threat at home while Russia's military is making itself 'vulnerable globally,' experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

It comes as Russia's military is tied down in Ukraine and less able to respond to crises elsewhere. Those questions come as a Ukrainian offensive bears down on Russia's military, which since late last year has been replenishing its forces in Ukraine with aging equipment and under-trained personnel. These efforts have bolstered Russian units in Ukraine but left the Russian military more vulnerable elsewhere and undermined its ability to respond to other crises, experts say. Russia's military has tried to show it still has muscles to flex, mostly with air and naval forces that are largely undamaged by the war. Russian troops board a military aircraft on their way to Kazakhstan in January 2022.

Persons: Wagner, it's, Putin, —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Russia's, Dara Massicot, Maxym, I've, there's, Massicot, Gorshkov, Kassym, Tokayev, Mark Galeotti, Galeotti, It's, Prigozhin, SERGEI GUNEYEV, Angela, John Kirby, Kirby Organizations: Service, Wagner Group, Rand Corporation, Georgetown University, Getty, Russia's, Fleet, Northern Fleet, Iranian Army, Anadolu Agency, Moscow, Russian Defense Ministry Press, Kremlin, SPUTNIK, Center for, East European Studies, Brookings Institution, National Security Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, Siberia, Norway, Georgia, Central Asia, Russia, Syria, Kazakhstan, Russia's, Armenia, Tajikistan

☆ How the 'masculine' talks that averted a siege on Moscow went down, according to Putin's negotiator
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Sam Fellman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Thousands of Wagner fighters led by Prigozhin threatened to advance on Moscow Saturday. That's when Russian leader Vladimir Putin purportedly came calling. The number of swear words was ten times higher than that of normal words. Certainly, he said he was sorry for using swear words." Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin in Moscow on September 9, 2021.

Persons: Lukashenko, Wagner, Prigozhin, —, Alexander Lukashenko, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, wasn't, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, SHAMIL ZHUMATOV, Prigozhin's Organizations: Moscow, Service, Privacy, Wagner Group, Belarusian, Kremlin, Getty, Lukashenko's Locations: Belarus, Moscow, Independence, Minsk, Russia, Belarusian, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov

☆ Shocked by the speed of the Wagner revolt, Russia's neighbors want to beef up NATO's eastern flank
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Petras Malukas | Afp | Getty ImagesThe fallout of the Wagner Group's short-lived armed rebellion has raised the alarm among Europe's Baltic countries. Speaking alongside his counterparts from Latvia and Estonia on Tuesday, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that the speed of the Wagner uprising underscored the strategic importance of strengthening NATO's eastern flank. Germany has offered to send around 4,000 troops to Lithuania on a permanent basis to bolster NATO's eastern flank. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year had already fueled concerns about the regional security of the Baltic region. Regional security concernsLatvia Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics described the Wagner rebellion as an example of "one evil fighting another evil."

Persons: Griffin, Silvestras, Petras Malukas, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Landsbergis, Malukas, Catherine Colonna, Jens Stoltenberg, Russia's, Mario Bikarski, Federica Reccia, Edgars Rinkevics, Rinkevics, Wagner Group's, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Gavriil Grigorov Organizations: Afp, Getty, Belarusian, Lithuanian, NATO, French, European Union, Economist Intelligence Unit, CNBC, Latvia, AFP Locations: Lithuanian, Pabrade, Lithuania, Baltic, Moscow, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Paris, Belarus, Estonian, Germany, Vilnius, Ukraine, Belarusian, Russian

Adding to uncertainty was the start of the second quarter's final week on Monday, weeks ahead of the financial reporting season. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 15, 2022. But Carnival (CCL.N) slumped 7.6% after the cruise operator forecast third-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations. The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 154 new lows. On U.S. exchanges 9.28 billion shares changed hands compared with the 11.62 billion average for the last 20 sessions.

Persons: Tesla, Aston Martin, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Jerome Powell, Carol Schleif, they've, Schleif, Chris Zaccarelli, Zaccarelli, Brendan McDermid, Powell, Goldman Sachs, UK's Aston Martin, decliners, Sinéad Carew, Sruthi Shankar, Johann M, Shinjini Ganguli, Richard Chang Organizations: Pfizer, Aston, Dow, Nasdaq, Monday, U.S . State Department, Meta Platforms Inc, Inc, Tesla Inc, BMO, Investors, Independent, Alliance, Dow Jones, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, University of, Pfizer Inc, UBS, Ares Management, NYSE, Thomson Locations: Russia, Minneapolis, Charlotte, North Carolina, New York City, U.S, New York, Bengaluru

June 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed lower on Monday, as investors were wary of making riskier bets after Russia's aborted weekend mutiny. Investors were uncertain about the implications of the rebellion by Russian mercenaries that raised questions about President Vladimir Putin's future. Growth stocks weighed the most on the main indexes, with Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) falling sharply. With this uncertainty in mind Schleif noted that investors were taking some profits in growth stocks that had advanced sharply this year. But Carnival (CCL.N) slumped after the cruise operator forecast third-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Jerome Powell, Carol Schleif, they've, Schleif, Chris Zaccarelli, Zaccarelli, Goldman Sachs, UK's Aston Martin, Sinéad Carew, Sruthi Shankar, Johann M, Shinjini Ganguli, Richard Chang Organizations: Monday, U.S . State Department, Meta Platforms Inc, Inc, Tesla Inc, Nasdaq, BMO, Independent, Alliance, Dow Jones, University of, Pfizer Inc, UBS, Ares Management, Thomson Locations: Russia, Minneapolis, Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S, New York, Bengaluru

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