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☆ The Fed’s 2% Inflation Target, Explained
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nord Stream Explosions: What to Know About the Investigations Investigators searching for answers behind explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines last year said a rental yacht may be linked to the incident, while some officials have ruled out Russian involvement. WSJ explores what we know so far. Photo composite: Danish Defence Command via Reuters/Uwe Driest

☆ Putin says Nord Stream blasts carried out on 'state level'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Caleb Davis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that last year's blasts on the Nord Stream gas pipelines had been carried out on a "state level", dismissing the idea an autonomous pro-Ukraine group was responsible as "complete nonsense". The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea were hit by a series of unexplained explosions last September, in what Moscow has called an act of "international terrorism". 'ANTENNA'Commenting on a report suggesting that a pro-Ukraine had attacked the pipelines, Putin said this was "complete nonsense". Theoretically, of course, the United States is interested," Putin said. The United States strongly denies any involvement in the Nord Stream blasts.

☆ Putin says Germany remains "occupied"
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Germany's response to the explosion on North Sea pipelines showed that the country remained "occupied" and unable to act independently decades after its surrender at the end of World War Two. Putin, interviewed on Russian television, also said European leaders had been browbeaten into losing their sense of sovereignty and independence. "The matter is that European politicians have said themselves publicly that after World War Two, Germany was never a fully sovereign state," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling state Rossiya-1 TV channel. Putin told the interviewer that the blasts were carried out on a "state level" and dismissed as "complete nonsense" suggestions that an autonomous pro-Ukraine group was responsible. The pipelines were intended to bring Russian gas to Germany, though since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine a year ago Berlin has taken steps to reduce its reliance on Russian hydrocarbons.

☆ The Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank: What You Need to Know
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Nord Stream Explosions: What to Know About the Investigations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

E4Snap’s Stock Has Fallen Almost 80% This Year: What Went Wrong Snap shifted from overdrive to reverse this year as it prepares for its lowest period of sales growth since going public. WSJ’s Meghan Bobrowsky explains how Snap’s dependence on digital ads led to its restructuring efforts. Illustration: Jacob Reynolds

[1/2] Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak reaching surface of the Baltic Sea in the area shows a disturbance of well over one kilometre in diameter near Bornholm, Denmark, September 27, 2022. "In an attempt to cover up the true people behind the crime, pro-government Anglo-Saxon media - on orders from above - have named a culprit - a group of Ukrainian terrorists," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper. As a former Soviet spy who has known Putin since the 1970s, Patrushev is seen by diplomats as one of the major influences on Putin, who has accused the "Anglo-Saxons" of sabotaging Nord Stream in what he has called a terrorist attack. The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines have a joint annual capacity of 110 billion cubic metres - more than half of Russia's normal gas exports volumes. Sections of the 1,224-km (760-mile) long pipelines, which run from Russia to Germany, lie at a depth of around 80-110 metres.

☆ Nord Stream Mystery Looms in Multibillion-Dollar Arbitration Cases Against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Georgi Kantchev | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Officials say they increasingly believe that neither Russian-government nor pro-Russian operatives were behind the Nord Stream blasts. BERLIN—Untangling the mystery of who carried out the Nord Stream pipelines blasts could become a major factor in multibillion-dollar arbitration proceedings that European energy companies have filed against Russian state-run gas giant Gazprom PJSC. Investigators in Europe are scrambling to figure out who ordered the apparent act of sabotage. U.S. officials said this week they were probing the possibility that a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for the blasts. Officials on both sides of the Atlantic have said they increasingly believe that neither Russian-government nor pro-Russian operatives were behind the sabotage, while cautioning it was too early to designate a culprit.

☆ Investigators Puzzle Over Yacht’s Possible Role in Nord Stream Blast
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | Sune Engel Rasmussen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Nordstream gas pipeline, which runs between Russia and Germany, was damaged in September by what prosecutors said were planted explosives. Andromeda, a slender, 50-foot-long sailing yacht with a teak deck, has become a key piece of the puzzle that international investigators are trying to solve as they probe the blasts that destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines off Germany’s northern coast. German prosecutors said this week investigators had searched a boat in January they believed could have been used in relation to the bombings.

☆ Nord Stream mystery: the tanker Minerva Julie spent 7 days idling near the attack site
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Days before the explosions, a tanker called the Minerva Julie was drifting nearby in the Baltic Sea. He discovered that the Minerva Julie, a 600-foot Greek-flagged tanker, was headed east from Rotterdam when, on September 6, it came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the Baltic Sea. From September 6 through September 13, the Minerva Julie drifted near the site of the September 26 explosions, AIS data show. The Minerva Julie stayed there, alternately idling and crossing a roughly 200-square-nautical-mile area above the two natural-gas pipelines, for seven days, from September 6 until September 12. The Minerva Julie, a 600-foot oil and chemical tanker, near the port of Rotterdam in 2020.

The gas leak at the Nord Stream gas pipeline in September. German authorities investigating blasts that tore through the Nord Stream natural-gas pipelines last year have identified a boat manned by a six-member crew that they say could have been involved in a sabotage operation, according to a senior government official. A summary report on the probe compiled for senior German officials said the vessel, a sport sailing boat, was rented in northern Germany days before the blasts by the six people, some of whom presented Ukrainian passports as identification, the official said.

☆ Denmark investigates yacht linked to Nord Stream blasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Nikolaj Skydsgaard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHRISTIANSÖ in the Baltic Sea, Denmark March 9 (Reuters) - Danish police have searched for a yacht on a tiny Baltic Sea island near the Nord Stream pipeline blast sites, the local administrator said on Thursday. German authorities confirmed on Wednesday they had raided a ship in January that may have been used to transport explosives used to blow up the pipelines. Authorities in Sweden, Germany and Denmark, who are currently investigating the blasts, say the explosions were deliberate but have not said who might be responsible. Christiansö is part of a small archipelago about 18 km northeast of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. The archipelago with just 98 inhabitants is a former naval fortress but remains under administration of the Danish defence ministry.

☆ A video from 2006 shows a young Tucker Carlson warning that 'crazy conspiracy theories' can spread without a 'universally recognized standard' for the news
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

An old video of Tucker Carlson from 2006 was posted to Twitter on Wednesday. The video shows Carlson warning about the dangers of conspiracy theories. "And in that environment, all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories bloom and take the place of facts." At the time of the 2006 panel discussion, Carlson was still a host on the MSNBC program "The Situation with Tucker Carlson." The sentiment expressed in the texts stands in stark contrast to Carlson's subsequent promoting of Trump's baseless voter-fraud conspiracy theories.

☆ Tiny Baltic island finds itself 'a pawn' in Nord Stream gas drama
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Nikolaj Skydsgaard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tom LittleCHRISTIANSÖ in the Baltic Sea, Denmark, March 9 (Reuters) - Inhabitants of the tiny island of Christiansö in the Baltic Sea found themselves in the glare of global media attention this week after reports alleging a boat moored off the rocky outcrop was used to blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines. I got calls from 87 different people," island caretaker Soren Thiim Andersen, the highest authority on the island that is Denmark's easternmost point, told Reuters. Andersen told Reuters the Danish police had interviewed local people for information about boats that moored on Christiansö on Sept. 16-18. That our small island could be a pawn in such a big political game. Christiansö is part of a small archipelago about 18 km northeast of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm.

☆ In Nord Stream Probe, German Investigators Search Boat That May Have Carried Explosives
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( William Boston | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gas emanating from a leak on the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in September. BERLIN—Germany’s federal prosecutor said Wednesday that investigators looking into the alleged sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea have searched a boat they say could have been used to transport explosives for the suspected attack last fall. The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines built to transfer gas from Russia to Europe were damaged in explosions in September, sparking several international investigations into the cause of the blasts. At the time of the blast, both pipelines were filled with natural gas but they weren’t in use. Russia had stopped gas supplies through Nord Stream and Germany had halted certification of Nord Stream 2 days before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. officials are investigating the possibility that a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible for last year’s attack on the Nord Stream natural-gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, a senior U.S. official said, while Germany said its investigators have searched a ship in connection with the sabotage. The assessment by U.S. intelligence that a pro-Ukrainian group could have been responsible isn’t definitive, the senior official said. But it adds to the growing sense among investigators in the U.S. and Europe that neither Russian-government nor pro-Russian operatives were behind the sabotage.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Wagner mercenaries claim control of Bakhmut's east
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FIGHTING* German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday warned against reaching premature conclusions on who was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, suggesting the attack could have been a "false flag" operation to blame Ukraine. * Russian forces made more than 30 unsuccessful attacks over the past day near Orikhovo-Vasylivka alone, 20 km (12 miles) northwest of Bakhmut, the General Staff of the Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Wednesday. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the seizure of Bakhmut would allow Moscow's forces to mount further offensive operations deeper inside Ukraine. * Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov urged his European Union counterparts on Wednesday to support a plan to buy 1 million artillery shells to help Kyiv fight Russia's invasion and replenish their own stocks. * External backers pour billions into Ukraine* How has China stood by 'no limits' partner Russia?

☆ Pro-Ukraine group sabotaged pipelines, intelligence suggests, NYT reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

On the battlefield, Ukraine's forces continued to fight for the eastern city of Bakhmut on Tuesday despite Russian troops and mercenaries nearly encircling them. "Without a doubt, Ukraine is absolutely not involved in the excesses on the pipelines," presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement. Several towns and villages near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region came under Russian shellfire, including Dubovo-Vasylivka, Ivanivske, Dyliivka and Bohdanivka, the statement said. Other provinces of Ukraine were attacked by Russian troops on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said, including in central Zaporizhzhia region. That narrative is rejected by Kyiv and the West, which say Ukraine is fighting for survival against a Russian imperial land grab.

☆ The EU is buying up Russian liquefied natural gas at the highest level in 3 years, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The EU is purchasing Russian liquefied natural gas at the highest level in three years, according to Bruegel data. Though the bloc has sanctioned Russian oil and fuel oil, LNG imports are still free-flowing. The EU snapped up 19.2 billion cubic meters of Russian LNG last year, a 35% increase from 2021. It also makes the EU Russia's second-largest LNG customer, despite efforts from European nations to cut off other Russian energy imports. Birol said the continent still needed to put more effort into diversifying away from Russian energy, or potentially risk blackouts later on in the year when storages are depleted.

Investigations are ongoing as to what caused the Nord Stream pipelines, supplying Russian energy to Europe, to rupture and spew bubbles of natural gas into the Baltic Sea last September. "We have to make a clear distinction whether it was a Ukrainian group, whether it may have happened at Ukrainian orders, or a pro-Ukrainian group (acting) without knowledge of the government. Pistorius said earlier the likelihood was "equally high" that it could have been a "false flag operation staged to blame Ukraine". UKRAINE PLAYS DOWN CONCERNSThe New York Times said there was no evidence that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy or other Ukrainian government officials had played any role in the attacks. U.S. officials said no American or British nationals were involved," according to the New York Times report.

☆ German liquefied natural gas capacity may not be fully utilised-RWE CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Rwe Ag FollowFRANKFURT, March 8 (Reuters) - Germany's liquefied natural gas infrastructure may end up not being fully utilised, the chief executive of the country's top utility said in an interview, but added that simply having the import capacity was key to avoid a possible fuel supply squeeze. The comments by RWE (RWEG.DE) CEO Markus Krebber, made in a joint interview with German magazines Der Stern and Capital, came in response to the notion that Berlin may have overshot the mark with existing LNG capacity plans. "It may be that the LNG terminals are not fully utilised. Krebber said that Russia, which fully stopped gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline at the end of August, was still fulfilling supply obligations via the alternative Ukraine pipeline. Germany said on Friday that the rollout of its LNG infrastructure would exceed the 9.8 billion euros ($10.40 billion) for the 2022-2038 period approved by the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

☆ Germany says no results yet of Nord Stream pipelines sabotage investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Gazprom PAO FollowBERLIN, March 7 (Reuters) - The German government on Tuesday said it had taken note of a New York Times report that said new intelligence suggested a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the Nord Stream pipelines attack last year but its own investigation has not yet reached results. Sweden, Denmark and Germany informed the United Nations Security Council a few days ago that the investigations are ongoing and that there are still no results, a spokesperson for the Chancellery said. "The Federal Public Prosecutor has been investigating the matter since the beginning of October 2022. Germany's public prosecutor was not immediately available for comment on the report, which Reuters could not immediately independently verify. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pro-Ukrainian group blew up a controversial Russian gas pipelines, but it's unclear who sent them, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A pro-Ukrainian group was behind the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, per new reports. The pipelines were controversial even before Russia launched the war in Ukraine. The Nord Steam 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to Germany, were controversial even before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last year. Nord Stream 1 was shut down indefinitely last September, and Nord Steam 2 was never operational. Facing immense pressure to end its reliance on energy from Russia, Germany froze the Nord Stream 2 project two days before Russian forces invaded Ukraine.

☆ Fed Chair Powell's testimony to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

World category · undefined agoNew intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

☆ U.S. says intel suggests pro-Ukrainian group sabotaged Nord Stream pipelines -NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group of likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, but the intelligence reached no firm conclusions, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Built by Russia's state-controlled Gazprom (GAZP.MM), the Nord Stream gas pipelines connect Russia and Germany. "Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two. Moscow this week called for all Nord Stream stakeholders to decide its fate after three of the four pipelines were destroyed in the attacks. German energy company E.ON (EONGn.DE), one of the shareholders of the Nord Stream pipeline, declined to comment.

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