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☆ Twitter Blue relaunches, now costs $11 per month if you subscribe from an iPhone
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter relaunched its updated Twitter Blue subscription service Monday after the company's new owner Elon Musk pulled and delayed the launch in November. The service costs $8 a month for web users and $11 a month for iOS users who purchase it through Apple 's App Store. Blue users will also be able to edit tweets and get early access to new features. Twitter Blue briefly launched in November, but it was pulled after users abused the new paid option by impersonating celebrities and brands. Users who were verified under Twitter's old policy are being marked as legacy verified accounts that "may not be notable" under the new Twitter Blue service.

☆ Polish c.bank governor says no decision on ending rate-hike cycle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Anna Koper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Poland's Monetary Policy Council (MPC) has made no decision about ending its tightening cycle, the central bank governor said on Thursday, as he reiterated that the series of rate hikes was paused rather than definitively finished. "We are still on hold," central bank governor Adam Glapinski told a news conference. "The Council... did not discuss whether to end the rate-hike cycle or not." Glapinski said he expected inflation would start to fall in March or April after rising at the beginning of 2023. "Then there will for sure be such a discussion in the Council.. whether to end the rate-hike cycle."

☆ SpaceX, Tesla, and Boring Company execs are helping Elon Musk at Twitter, records reveal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Ever since, he has enlisted high-ranking executives and engineers from his other businesses, including SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company, to help out at the social media company, according to internal records obtained by CNBC and conversations with recent Twitter employees. Musk has also enabled partners from investment firms who participated in the Twitter buyout access to work within the social media company. In his testimony, Musk characterized Tesla employees' work for him at Twitter as "just a voluntary thing." He also said: "This was sort of an after-hours, just if you're interested in evaluating the -- helping me evaluate Twitter engineering, that would be nice. In addition to Tesla employees, Musk has also enlisted execs and employees from SpaceX, the reusable rocket and satellite internet services company he founded in 2002, to help him at Twitter.

Lignite contains several times more sulphur and ash, and five times more mercury, than black coal, and provides three times less energy. It also loosened restrictions on selling coal waste, which can be highly polluting, taking Poland back to the days before 2018, when the rules for coal were tightened to fight smog. In September, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski even told residents of Nowy Targ, the town with the lowest air quality in Poland in 2020, to burn pretty much whatever they wanted. Smog has been intense over the past days and we have a lot of children in need of intensive treatment," she said. COAL RUSHAbout 80% of the coal used by European Union citizens to heat homes is burned in Poland.

☆ Polish counter-terrorism police help Santa Claus
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Polish counter-terrorism police officers hang outside windows to deliver presents to patients on Saint Nicholas Day, as they abseil down from the roof of a children's hospital in Rzeszow, Poland December 6, 2022. Podkarpacka Policja/Handout via REUTERSWARSAW, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Santa Claus got some help from Polish counter-terrorism police on Saint Nicholas day as the officers absailed down from the roof of a children's hospital in the southern city of Rzeszow to deliver presents to patients. Saint Nicholas day falls on Dec. 6 and children in Poland and many other countries receive chocolates or other small presents ahead of the main Christmas celebration later in the month. "The visit of the police officers caused a great stir among the little patients," police said in a statement. Having succeeded in entering the building through the windows, officers dealt with the challenge of distributing the gifts around the wards by using a bomb disposal robot.

His centre-left Social Democrats, the Greens and liberal Free Democrats, have had to wrangle to reach compromises, sometimes delaying decisions. Some European allies say the focus on domestic challenges and internal politicking have distracted Berlin from regional cooperation and especially the key German-French motor that traditionally drives the European Union. Relief measures worth hundreds of billions of euros have helped Scholz's coalition stave off serious social unrest due to soaring energy prices in the wake of the Ukraine war, but recent polls suggest it has lost its majority. MIXED MESSAGESTo be sure, Germany's allies have welcomed the Zeitenwende after years of warning the country of complacency on security. The government may for example not reach the NATO spending goal until 2025, a spokesman said this week.

☆ Analysis: East Europeans count their pennies for Christmas as food costs soar
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Krisztina Than | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Food prices in Hungary were a staggering 45.2% higher in October than a year earlier, Eurostat data shows, with 10 countries in the EU's east facing food price inflation of more than 20%. The cost of food was 33.3% higher in Lithuania and up 30% in Latvia compared to October 2021. read moreCzech headline inflation slowed to 15.1% in October but food prices grew, while in Poland food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation was 22.3% in November, well ahead of overall CPI at 17.4%. Inflation in Hungary is expected to start a very slow decline in the first half of next year. "There are still no durable signs that the inflation dynamics are improving in Hungary," Goldman Sachs has said.

The G7 and Australia said in a statement the price cap would take effect on Dec. 5 or very soon thereafter. "The Price Cap Coalition may also consider further action to ensure the effectiveness of the price cap," the statement read. The G7 price cap will allow non-EU countries to continue importing seaborne Russian crude oil, but it will prohibit shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude around the globe, unless it is sold for less than the price cap. Because the most important shipping and insurance firms are based in G7 countries, the price cap would make it very difficult for Moscow to sell its oil for a higher price. The initial G7 proposal last week was for a price cap of $65-$70 per barrel with no adjustment mechanism.

Polish Ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados on Friday told reporters Poland had backed the EU deal, which included a mechanism to keep the oil price cap at least 5% below the market rate. A spokesperson for the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating EU presidency and oversees EU countries' negotiations, said it had launched the written procedure for all 27 EU countries to formally greenlight the deal, following Poland's approval. The G7 price cap will allow non-EU countries to continue importing seaborne Russian crude oil, but it will prohibit shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude around the globe, unless it is sold for less than the price cap. The White House on Friday welcomed news that the EU was "coming together" on the oil price cap and said it should limit Russian revenues. The initial G7 proposal last week was for a price cap of $65-$70 per barrel with no adjustment mechanism.

☆ Holdout Poland approves EU's $60 Russian oil price cap, with adjustment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sados said the mechanism in the final deal would keep the price cap at least 5% below the market rate. The G7 price cap will allow non-EU countries to continue importing seaborne Russian crude oil, but it will prohibit shipping, insurance and re-insurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian crude around the globe, unless it is sold for less than the price cap. Because the world's key shipping and insurance firms are based in G7 countries, the price cap would make it very difficult for Moscow to sell its oil for a higher price. The initial G7 proposal last week was for a price cap of $65-$70 per barrel with no adjustment mechanism. The document also said a 45-day "transitional period" would apply to vessels carrying Russian crude that was loaded before Dec. 5 and unloaded at its final destination by Jan. 19, 2023.

☆ European Union officials set Russian oil price cap at $60 a barrel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The European Union on Friday agreed to cap Russian seaborne oil prices at $60 a barrel, after several days of intense negotiations over an appropriate level. The announcement comes after the G-7 group of advanced economies agreed in September to impose a limit on Russian seaborne crude and therefore constrain revenues the Kremlin makes from the commodity. However, details on how the cap would work in practice have been debated and hashed out since that point. Russia, amid its onslaught in Ukraine, has warned that an oil price cap could wreak havoc on the energy markets and push commodity prices even higher. The price limit will be reviewed regularly to monitor its market ramifications, but it should be "at least 5% below the average market price," an EU document with details of the cap said.

☆ EU agrees $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil -EU diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 1 (Reuters) - European Union governments tentatively agreed on Thursday on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil - an idea of the Group of Seven (G7) nations - with an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price, an EU diplomat said. The initial G7 proposal last week was for a price cap of $65-70 per barrel with no adjustment mechanism. "The price cap is set at $60 with a provision to keep it 5% below market price for Russian crude, based on IEA figures," the EU diplomat said. The reviews of the price cap level would be held every two months, EU diplomats said. The G7 price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil is to kick in on Dec. 5, replacing the harsher EU outright ban on buying Russian seaborne crude, as a way to safeguard global oil supply because Russia produces 10% of the world's oil.

☆ Ukrainian grain exports via Poland rise by 50%, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Around 450,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain are being transported via Poland monthly, over 50% more than in the middle of the year, Poland's infrastructure minister said on Wednesday, as Warsaw helps its neighbour to increase its food exports. Ukraine is one of the world's leading grain and oilseed exporters and a Russian blockade of its ports after Moscow invaded the country in February drove a quest for alternative routes. After an almost six-month blockade, three Ukrainian Black Sea ports were unblocked at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. "Within the so-called solidarity lanes about 452 thousand tonnes of (Ukrainian) grains are currently transported through the territory of Poland, over 50% more than in the middle of the year," Andrzej Adamczyk said. "Compared to October last year, the increase in grain transport in the same period of 2022 is over 16 times," he added.

☆ Ukraine says it will work to convince Germany to provide Patriot systems
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUCHAREST, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Ukraine needs the U.S. made Patriot missile defence systems to protect its civilian infrastructure, under heavy attack by Russia, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday, adding he would try to convince Germany to allow their delivery. Russia has carried out regular missile bombardments on Ukraine's energy infrastructure since early October, with damage accumulating as temperatures drop. Spare parts to repair the energy sector, air defence systems to prevent future attacks and NATO-style tanks were the priority, he said. "If Germany is ready to provide Patriots to Poland and Poland is ready to hand them to Ukraine then I think the solution for the German government is obvious," he said, adding that Kyiv would work with Berlin on the issue. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO on Tuesday against providing Ukraine with Patriot systems.

☆ Blended travel lets people switch from work to leisure with ease. Here's how hospitality and travel companies are accommodating this experience.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Crowne Plaza Hotels | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

For business travelers, this means combining work with leisure or blended travel. Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts reimagined its hotel spaces, amenities, and service culture to help travelers flex between work and leisure. "Many other hospitality brands put the blend into bleisure, but at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, we know the future is about flexibility." Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts"It's vital to provide these transitional moments for the new breed of connected traveler," Taggart said. Book your blended travel experience at Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts.

☆ Scholz welcomes Qatar LNG deal as 'building block' for German energy security
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Conocophillips FollowBERLIN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed a new deal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar on Tuesday as a "building block" towards his country's energy security and a sign that Berlin had many different countries to tap for supplies. QatarEnergy and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) signed two sales and purchase agreements to export 2 million tonnes of LNG annually to Germany for at least 15 years from 2026, as Berlin pursues new energy partnerships after a plunge in gas from Russia. "I am very confident that this is another important building block in a house that we have already built to a large extent," Scholz told a briefing, adding that global problems should not lead to countries raising trade barriers. Scholz said he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, including about the prospect of sending Gepard tanks to Ukraine. Reporting by Matthias Williams and Andreas Rinke Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Poland to charge Ukrainian refugees for government-provided housing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Poland plans to charge Ukrainian refugees for food and housing after 4 months of staying in state accommodation, the government said on Tuesday. More than a million Ukrainian refugees made a temporary home in Poland, Ukraine's western neighbour, after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, relying on the kindness of strangers who opened up their homes and government aid. But after an initial outpouring of public support for refugees, resources are drying up and refugees are having a harder time finding flats and getting support with Poland facing a cost of living crisis and budget strains. "Citizens of Ukraine who stay in Poland in collective accommodation centres will participate in the costs of housing and meals," the government said in a statement. ($1 = 4.5085 zlotys)Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Alan Charlish, Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Summary Brent, WTI fall for third consecutive weekEU delays talks on Russian oil price cap until next weekPoland seeks German support for EU sanctions on pipelineNEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 2% on Friday in thin market liquidity, closing a week marked by worries about Chinese demand and haggling over a Western price cap on Russian oil. Brent crude futures settled down $1.71, or 2%, to trade at $83.63 a barrel, having retraced some earlier gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down $1.66, or 2.1%, at $76.28 a barrel. This is starting to hit fuel demand, with traffic drifting down and implied oil demand around 1 million barrels per day lower than average, an ANZ note showed. Meanwhile, G7 and European Union diplomats have been discussing a Russian oil price cap between $65 and $70 a barrel, but an agreement has still not been reached.

☆ Germany must decide where Patriot missiles are stationed, says Polish president
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WARSAW, Nov 25 (Reuters) - It is Germany's decision where its Patriot air defence units are stationed, the Polish president said on Friday, adding that it would be better for Poland's security if they were on Ukrainian territory near the border. "From a military point of view, it would be best if they were located in Ukraine to also protect Polish territory, then they would protect both Ukraine and Poland most effectively," Andrzej Duda told a news conference in Kaunas, Lithuania. "But the decision rests with the German side." Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel FlorkiewiczOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"We are talking with our allies about how to handle Poland's ... suggestion," a German government spokesperson told reporters in Berlin. Berlin offered Warsaw the Patriot system to help secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed and killed two people in Poland last week. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak later asked Germany to send the fire units to Ukraine instead. Stoltenberg's comments came after German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht on Thursday said sharing Germany's Patriot units outside NATO territory would require prior discussions with NATO and the allies. Duda later said that Germany could send the Patriot units to Ukraine without NATO troops to operate them, something he says Kyiv has been asking for for a while.

☆ Exclusive: Poland seeking German support to sanction Russian Druzhba oil pipeline
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The EU has pledged to stop buying Russian oil via maritime routes from Dec. 5 but Druzhba is currently exempt from sanctions. The southern section of the pipeline supplies Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic which, unlike Poland and Germany, would struggle to diversify their oil imports. Poland and Germany promised in spring to try to end Russian oil imports via Druzhba's northern leg by the end of year but Orlen remains tied to its contract with Russian oil and gas company Tatneft. The company has already cut its reliance on Russian oil to 30% of its requirement, replacing it with deliveries from Saudi Arabia and Norway among others. Kommersant newspaper reported earlier this month that Orlen had submitted an application to the Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft for the supply of 3 million tonnes of oil to Poland through Druzhba in 2023.

Allies have been supplying Kyiv with weapons and military equipment since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, depleting their own inventories along the way. HISTORIC INDUSTRYEastern Europe's arms industry dates back to the 19th Century, when Czech Emil Skoda began manufacturing weapons for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They said Ukraine had acquired weapons and equipment via donations from governments and direct commercial contracts between Kyiv and the manufacturers. "At the same time it's an opportunity for them to build up their military production industry." Czech arms exports this year will be the highest since 1989, he said, with many companies in the sector adding jobs and capacity.

☆ German Patriot air defence units intended for NATO territory, Berlin tells Warsaw
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Berlin made it clear on Thursday that the Patriot air defence units it offered to Poland are intended for use on NATO territory, countering demands by Warsaw for the system to be sent to Ukraine. "These Patriots are part of NATO's integrated air defence, meaning they are intended to be deployed on NATO territory," German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in Berlin. "Any use outside NATO territory would require prior discussions with NATO and the allies," she added. Berlin offered Warsaw the Patriot missile defence system to help secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed and killed two people in Poland last week. Today, the German forces are down to 12 Patriot units, two of which are deployed to Slovakia.

☆ Hungary to ratify NATO membership for Finland, Sweden early next year - PM Orban
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday that Hungary's parliament would ratify NATO membership for Finland and Sweden early next year. Orban told a briefing after a meeting of the Visegrad Group in Slovakia that his government had already decided that Hungary would support Finland's and Sweden's NATO accession and parliament would set this item on its agenda at its first session next year. "Hungary will surely give its backing to their accession, after the government had done, also parliament will do so," Orban said. Hungary and Turkey are the only members of the alliance who have not yet cleared the accession. Reporting by Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Polish climate minister says EU gas cap proposal is a 'joke'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WARSAW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The European Union's gas price cap proposal is a 'joke', Polish climate minister Anna Moskwa said on Thursday. Moskwa's criticism followed disagreement among the 27 European Union countries on Wednesday over a proposal to cap future gas prices at 275 euros per megawatt hour (MWh). read more"The gas cap proposal is key, but what emerged the day before yesterday is a joke. it was presented at the last moment and deviates from what had been proposed before and isn't acceptable as it's higher than current market prices," Moskwa said in Brussels. As many as 15 EU countries including Poland, Italy and Greece want a cap, while a camp led by Germany argues that a cap could hamper gas supplies.

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