Latest News
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Trump Administration appeals $16 Billion Hudson Tunnel Funding Order
The Trump administration appealed on Friday a court order that required it to pay for the $16 billion Hudson Tunnel Project?after losing their latest bid to halt funding for 'the New York - New Jersey Rail Link. The project will build a new commuter train tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey, and repair an old tunnel that is used daily by over 200,000 passengers and 425 trains. The funding dispute is a new clash between the Trump administration and the congressional Democrats on one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country. Trump has stated that he is against the tunnel which received federal support of about $15 billion under former president Joe Biden. The?U.S. The Transportation Department abruptly halted grant funding for the project on 1 October in response to a partial government shutdown that President Donald Trump blamed congressional Democrats. A U.S. court?ordered that the payments resume in February. Trump announced in October that he terminated the project citing U.S. backing. Chuck Schumer is a New York Democrat who expressed concerns over potential cost increases. The Department, which didn't comment immediately on Friday, had said that the freeze was imposed to ensure compliance with regulations prohibiting improper use of "diversity equity and inclusion" policies when funding. The heavily damaged tunnel from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 needs frequent repairs, which disrupt travel on the nation's busiest passenger rail line. Construction was temporarily halted in February, but resumed when the Trump Administration released funding that it had been withholding since October. The Gateway Development Commission which oversees the?project for New York and New Jersey has sued the Transportation Department separately in the U.S. Court of Claims, to ensure that the funds aren't frozen. Trump offered to unfreeze funds in January if Democrats would support his proposal to rename Washington Dulles Airport, and New York Penn Station. Democrats criticised the idea. The federal funding for the project has already been spent on around $2 billion.
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Serbia obtains additional sanctions waiver for Russian owned NIS oil company
On Friday, energy minister 'Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic' wrote on Instagram that?Serbia had secured a further waiver of sanctions from the United States until September 30 for its Russian-owned NIS Oil firm. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control has granted a waiver to NIS, the operator of Serbia's sole oil refinery. This will allow NIS to continue importing oil until the Russian majority stake is sold by MOL, a Hungarian oil company, for a total of 51%. "The extended license allows us to continue supplying the market, while at same time working on an long-term solution (for NIS),"?Djedovic handanovic said. OFAC imposed sanctions against NIS in October last year as part of broader measures targeting Russia's energy sector due to the conflict in Ukraine. They demanded that Gazprom and Gazprom divest their combined 56% stake. This waiver is vital for Serbia, as the NIS refinery supplies around 80% or its demand. The Balkan country's other fuel imports fell to 25% of its monthly target in July due to record-low water levels on the River Danube forcing barges and tanks to operate at only a third their cargo capacity. Djedovic Handanovic said that negotiations between MOL & Gazprom Neft were in the final phase. She said without further explanation that "the new?licence is a sign of progress and a desire to provide the extra time necessary to complete this complicated transaction." OFAC granted NIS several waivers of sanctions allowing it import crude via Croatia’s Janaf pipeline while MOL completed the?acquisition following a provisional agreement in January. The Serbian Government owns 29,9% of NIS. Small shareholders and employees hold the rest. (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens and Kirby Donovan; Aleksandar Vasovic, Angeliki Koutantou)
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Kremlin: Putin and Xi will discuss Power of Siberia 2 next week
Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin's foreign policy adviser, said that the Russian president?Vladimir Putin would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping?on a side-line?of??the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit?? in Bishkek?, Kyrgyzstan?s capital. Ushakov stated that the leaders will discuss the?planned 2,600-km (1.616-miles) Power of Siberia?2 system, which is expected to transport 50 billion cubic meters (bcm),?of gas a year?to China via Mongolia?from the Arctic Gasfields. Power of Siberia 2 is stalled because of price disagreements, and the pipeline talks have been going on for many years. Putin will also meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoan, and he is expected to discuss with him the situation in Ukraine and at the Black Sea. The Kremlin's aide confirmed that Putin would also meet with the?Indian PM Narendra Modi and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (Reporting and writing by Anton Kolodyazhnyy; Written by Vladimir Soldatkin)
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In a stepped-up attack on logistics, Russia destroys Ukrainian food stores
Kyiv’s agriculture minister revealed on Friday that recent Russian air strikes?have destroyed 90% of retailers' logistics for food, Kyiv's agricultural ministry said. This reveals?the extent of Moscow's mounting attack on Ukrainian logistics. Both countries have intensified their strikes over the past few weeks, focusing on economic targets such as major retailers. Specifically,?Russia has targeted warehouses of Ukraine's top supermarket chains, its top?postal services?and its home-goods shops. Ukrinform reported that Taras Vysotskyi, the farm minister, said, "As it stands today, 90 percent of retail food chains are destroyed. But this does not mean Ukrainians won't have food." The comments he made to reporters in Kyiv were the most honest official assessment of the impact of Russia's escalating attacks on Ukraine's fragile economy, in its fifth year of war. Strikes at the logistics depots for food retailers have caused?fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar and other foods to disappear from some Kyiv supermarkets. Ukraine's long range attacks have also targeted energy infrastructure, oil tankers and the Black Sea's Black and Azov Seas. ATTACKS ON LOGISTICS Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi stated that Russia launched jet-powered drones across Ukraine almost non-stop over the past two weeks, especially in Kyiv and its surrounding area, where the situation was the most challenging. He said on Telegram that 16 people were killed in Ukraine over the last day. Vyhivskyi stated that the attackers are targeting civilian businesses such as food?warehouses and hypermarkets. They also target postal terminals and warehouses where books were stored. Tymur Tkachenko, the governor of Kyiv, confirmed that Russian drones attacked more than 12 warehouses in the region on Friday, causing one death. The company also reported that the strikes destroyed the sorting centres of Ukraine's leading private courier Nova Poshta in Kyiv, and Sumy (northern city) as well. Ivan Fedorov, the governor of Zaporizhzhia in the south, said that a Russian drone ripped into a major home improvement store, Epicenter, and injured at least four people. Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, said that Russia had also attacked a shopping centre in the city. This was the second attack in just two days. A Russian drone also destroyed on Friday a Kyiv-region warehouse for a major book retailer, which shipped thousands of titles every day. GOAL TO 'PARALYZE' KYIV Frequent sirens blared 'throughout Kyiv' into the afternoon of Friday, a day after a missile and drone assault on Ukraine which targeted major retailers and consumer logistic in Kyiv as well as elsewhere. The attacks on Friday appeared to be a bid to prolong the chaos caused by strikes a day before, which had delayed trains in several regions and left many passengers stranded. Andriy Kovalevko, the head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation(CCD), an arm of the National Security Council, said: "The enemy is sending small numbers of UAVs with jet engines in waves to paralyse Kyiv." The aim is to wear down?air defences as well as the population. Ukraine's State Railway said on Friday that although delays are decreasing, the effects of frequent strike and air-raid warnings will be felt for at least one more day. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said that Kyiv was under an air-raid warning for nearly 15 hours on Thursday. Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka from Gdansk; additional reporting by Yuliia Dia, Jekaterina Glubkova from Tokyo; editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Christopher Cushing.
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Walmart settles US Government's Opioid lawsuit
The Department of Justice announced on Friday that Walmart had settled a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Government accusing it of?fueling a national opioid epidemic? through the illegal?dispensing of prescriptions at its pharmacies. The terms were not available immediately. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Walmart in 2020. The company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, was accused of violating federal Controlled Substances Act repeatedly since 2013. Walmart was warned at the time of potentially facing billions in civil penalties. A Justice Department spokesperson stated that the department was pleased to have settled with Walmart to resolve allegations that its pharmacies had failed to meet their obligations under Controlled Substances Act when dispensing opiates and other controlled substances. Walmart released a statement saying: "We're?pleased that this matter has been resolved and we will continue to support the outstanding work our pharmacists perform every day in order to provide 'outstanding patient care. U.S. district judge Colm Connolly narrowed the case in March 2024. He dismissed claims that Walmart failed to report suspicious prescribing to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and that Walmart pharmacists did not document "red flags". Connolly allowed the government to pursue a claim against Walmart that it had dispensed prescriptions which Walmart compliance personnel were aware of being invalid. Unresolved was a fourth claim that pharmacies dispensing prescriptions which they knew to be invalid. This was the largest Justice Department case against one company in relation to the opioid epidemic. Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty in 2020 to 'criminal charges' related to OxyContin, after filing for bankruptcy, as well as the drug wholesaler Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen) were also targeted. Walmart will pay $3.1 billion in 2022 to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by local and state governments regarding its pharmacy's role in the opioid epidemic. According to the United States, more than 905,000 people died of opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2025. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency stated that annual deaths started to decline after 2022. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Andrew Goudsward, Washington, D.C.
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After drone attacks, Russian oil exports from Novorossiysk will more than halve by August
According to traders and LSEG shipping data, oil exports from Russia’s Black Sea Port of Novorossiysk will halve from their July levels in 'August after Ukrainian drone strikes disrupted loadings at the Sheskharis Oil Terminal. Two traders have said that Novorossiysk's loadings are expected to drop below 350,000 barrels a day (bpd), from about 800,000 in July. Ukraine increased drone strikes against Russian energy infrastructure this year, including ports of export and pipelines. The aim is to reduce the revenue from oil exports. Sheskharis Terminal at Novorossiysk, Russia's principal crude export outlet along the Black Sea handles shipments of Urals Light and Siberian Light crude. The port also loads Kazakhstan’s KEBCO mix for export markets. Traders estimate that Russian producers will?load about 600,000 metric tonnes?of crude oil from Novorossiysk this August. The rest of the total 1.4 millions tons of oil is made up of Kazakh crude. Market participants believe that Ukraine will not target vessels carrying non-Russian crude oil. This is why Russia has diverted some Kazakh transit from the Baltic port Ust-Luga, to Novorossiysk. Financial Times reports that Ukraine has promised to stop attacking tankers transporting non-Russian oil from Black Sea ports. Drones had previously targeted cargoes "linked to Kazakhstan", including CPC Blend exports at the Caspian pipeline consortium's terminal in Yuzhnaya Ozereyevka near Sheskharis. Traders say they expect the disruption of Russian crude loadings at?Novorossiysk will continue through September. One trader stated that "we don't anticipate the situation to ease in Novorossiysk next month. So, it is likely we will be seeing more?Kazakh barriques." In addition to Novorossiysk in the Far East, Russia also exports crude from its Baltic ports, Primorsk and Ust-Luga. (Editing by Elaine Hardcastle).
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Sweden deploys fighter jets and warships in Finland
Finland's Defence Forces announced on Friday that Sweden's military will be involved in the surveillance and defense of Finland's territories with Gripen fighter jets and the 'corvette' warship at least until 2026. The Finnish military stated that the Swedish equipment would strengthen air surveillance, and free up Finnish Defence Forces resources to repel violations or incidents, as needed. Both of the newest NATO members, two neighbouring countries have already established a strong bilateral defense cooperation. Finland shares a 1,340 kilometre (833 mile) border with Russia on its eastern side. Sweden has responded to Finland's request to "strengthen" its air defense due to the deteriorating?security?situation, said Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson. He added that under the agreement the Swedish armed force could, if needed, help Finland repel any violations of Finnish territorial waters. Sweden could also provide ground-based antidrone systems in addition to fighter jets, vessels, and ships with drone combat capability, according to?he. The presence of military drones in the airspaces of Finland, Estonia and Latvia is raising concerns that 'the war in Ukraine' will spill over to NATO's northern borders with Russia. As Ukraine intensifies its attacks on Russian Baltic Sea shipping ports, some drones are missing their targets. This has led to security warnings from neighbouring countries. SAAB of Sweden, which makes the Gripen fighter jet, announced separately on Friday that it had received a 1.2 billion crown order ($126 mln) from Finland for their RBS 70 NG air defence missile systems.
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Germany reports that gas storage injections are increasing as the LNG market improves
German officials said that on Friday, "gas operators are actively filling up storage facilities," citing better price dynamics and a weaker competition in Asia for liquefied natural gas cargoes. A spokesperson for the Economy Ministry told a regular press conference that German "gas" storage sites were 51.64 percent full. Operators had also injected large volumes of gas in recent days, he added. The spokesperson stated that "the winter-summer spread, which was always a problem?as the prices were too expensive - has improved, which may be one of the factors." "Another reason is the cooling of the heatwave in Asia, which means that cargo shipments no longer go to Asia but are purchased here." Germany wants to reach 70% capacity in its storage caverns by November 1st. The energy lobby group BDEW has described the target as achievable but a challenge. The spokesperson for the Ministry said that it is closely monitoring the situation and expects the market participants to keep filling up the facilities. The spokesperson said: "The market has always performed this task, and we continue to monitor the market's functioning." The spokesperson warned against focusing on only storage levels. She said that a certain storage percentage did not determine if supplies could be considered secure. The spokesperson added that the security of supply was based on a more comprehensive assessment, which included Germany's import terminals for LNG and the ability to import from countries in western Europe.
Bousso: The energy market is in a twilight area because of the ceasefire between Iran and ROI
The Iran war ceasefire will bring much-needed relief to the economies that have been hit by the worst energy crisis in history. But hopes of a quick return to normal oil and natural gas flow from the Middle East are most likely misplaced. U.S. president Donald Trump agreed on Tuesday to a ceasefire for two weeks, provided that Iran halted its blockade of gas and oil shipments through 'Strait of Hormuz', the narrow waterway which typically handles?one fifth of the global oil trade. Abbas Araqchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, said Tehran would "halt counter-attacks" and ensure safe passage of vessels traversing the strait.
Uncertain is the exact time frame in which the ceasefire will be fully implemented. Iran continued to attack Israel and Gulf states shortly after Trump announced the deal, highlighting its fragility. In its sixth week of fighting, the war has already claimed over 5,000 lives in nearly a dozen different countries. It has also severely damaged regional infrastructure including oil and gas installations. The financial markets welcomed the news. The Nikkei index in Japan rose 5%, reaching a new high. Brent crude fell 13%, to $95 per barrel, by 0300 GMT. Traders priced in an easing of the supply risk.
QUICK RELIEF VAULT
The temporary ceasefire and reopening the Hormuz Strait would allow Middle Eastern exporters of oil to move significant volumes that have been trapped in the Gulf since hostilities started, providing immediate relief to global energy markets.
Kpler, a firm that provides analytics services, estimates that around 200 tankers are presently containing 130 million barrels crude oil and 46 millions barrels refined fuels in the region. Another 1.3 millions tonnes of liquefied gas is also stuck on vessels waiting for safe passage.
The disruption was particularly severe for Asia, where 60% of its gas and 80% of its oil imports come from the Middle East. Following the abrupt cuts in fuel deliveries, several countries were forced to reduce industrial production and ration supplies. These trapped volumes could therefore be released to ease the greatest pressure on Asian economies and energy systems.
The problem is not just clearing up the backlog. It is one thing to get tankers out of Gulf, but it's another to convince shipowners and chartered vessels to return.
The unprecedented blockade on Hormuz caused a severe disruption to global shipping markets, as it reduced tanker availability and pushed freight rates up to record levels. Shipowners will likely be extremely cautious when reentering the area during what, at best is a shaky, time-limited ceasefire. They fear that their vessels and crews may once again get trapped if hostilities return.
This caution will also constrain any attempts to restore normal export flows.
OIL PRODUCTION IN LAG
Kpler reports that Middle East oil exports via Hormuz fell by 13 million barrels a day (bpd), which is equivalent to 13% of the global demand. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were able to divert some shipments via alternative routes. However, regional producers had to close down an estimated 7.5 millions bpd production in March. This included 2.8 million bpd for Iraq and 1.9million bpd for Saudi Arabia.
As things stand, it is unlikely that much of this production will return quickly.
It can take several weeks to restart oilfields in the Middle East. Saudi Aramco, the UAE's Adnoc and other national oil companies may hesitate to restore production until they have more clarity about the duration of the ceasefire.
Repairs to refineries, fields, and export terminals that have been damaged by drone and missile strikes could take months or even years. A shortage of skilled workers and specialised equipment could also slow down restoration efforts in the region.
It is important that producers do not restart refineries and fields if they are unsure of the availability of tankers to transport crude oil, diesel, and jet fuel.
If Washington and Tehran agreed to a permanent cessation in hostilities, which led to a full reopening the Strait of Hormuz and oil and gas trade could return to normal operations. Even in this more optimistic scenario, however, the war will likely leave lasting scars to global supply.
According to Saul Kavonic of MST Marquee, who is the head of energy analysis, in the medium-term, oil markets could be 3 to 5 millions bpd tighter than pre-war expectations over the next several years due to damage done to export infrastructure, and the need to "rebuild depleted inventory",
The two-week-old ceasefire that is now in place risks becoming a temporary fix to what has become a global energy crisis of unprecedented proportions unless the warring sides reach a more firm peace agreement. The opinions expressed are those of Ron Bousso a columnist at. This column is great! Open Interest (ROI) is your new essential source of global financial commentary. Follow ROI on LinkedIn and X. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast daily on Apple, Spotify or the app. Subscribe to the Morning Bid podcast and hear journalists discussing the latest news in finance and markets seven days a weeks.
(source: Reuters)