As the West has shunned most Russian energy, unleashing a pressure campaign against the Kremlin's petroleum revenues, record U.S. crude exports have helped fill the gap in Europe with the oil needed to produce gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.
How Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Changed Financial Markets
A year after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, markets have absorbed many of the short-term impacts, but investors say the conflict could have longer-lasting financial consequences.
The Russian ruble has gyrated, first tumbling against the dollar, then rebounding due to capital controls and an influx of petrodollars, then selling off again as energy sanctions started to bite. It is now roughly back to where it was preinvasion.
Ukraine Counters Wagner's Claims of Advances Near Bakhmut
Kyiv on Sunday countered Russian claims to have taken further territory around Bakhmut as Russia seeks to surround the eastern city that Ukraine's military has defended against withering onslaughts for months.
The Wagner Group paramilitary force fighting alongside Russia's regular army in Ukraine said on Saturday that it had secured control of Yahidne to the northwest of Bakhmut. The press service of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin posted an image appearing to show Wagner fighters beside a sign marking the entrance to the village, and Mr. Prigozhin confirmed the village had been taken.
China Sticks Close to Russia as It Makes Cautious Diplomatic Push
HONG KONG-Over a year of war in Ukraine, Russia and China have grown closer. The next stage, as China seeks to cast itself as pushing for peace, will test whether Beijing is willing to put any distance between itself and Moscow.
Thus far it hasn't. Aside from statements from China's leader Xi Jinping that nuclear war must be avoided-the sort of truism few would argue with-China has offered no criticism of Russia's actions. Even that nudging hasn't stopped President Vladimir Putin from nuclear gamesmanship, highlighted by his stepping back from the New START treaty this week.
Nigerians, Battered by Crises, Vote in Tight Election
LAGOS, Nigeria-Tens of millions of Nigerians cast their votes Saturday in an election that many hope will be a turning point for Africa's largest economy and most populous nation after years of debilitating economic and security crises.
For the first time, the two established parties that have ruled Nigeria since its return to democracy in 1999 are facing a third-party challenger, Peter Obi from the smaller Labour Party, who has gained a following among young people frustrated with a lack of opportunities, rising prices and the struggles that define everyday life in the country.
Israel, Palestinian Authority Pledge to Reduce West Bank Violence
TEL AVIV-Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged Sunday to reduce the escalating violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem, but the fatal shooting of two Israeli settlers and subsequent riots in Palestinian villages underscored how tensions are spiraling.
Israelis and Palestinians issued a joint statement after a rare meeting with U.S., Jordanian and Egyptian officials hosted in Jordan's southern coastal city of Aqaba. The summit brought high-level diplomacy to efforts to stem spiraling tensions between Israelis and Palestinians ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in late March. Regional officials have warned that Ramadan could be a flashpoint for new violence, as it has been in the past.
GLOBAL NEWS
Investors Are Bracing for Surge in Market Volatility
Fear is creeping back into the stock market. To protect against a potential downturn, traders are scooping up hedges at the fastest clip since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
More call options betting that the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, will rise have changed hands on an average day in February than at any time since March 2020, Cboe data shows.
Private-Equity Activity Could Rebound in Second Half of Year, Report Says
Private equity's recent challenges in fundraising, deal making and exits don't dim the long-term outlook for the asset class, a new report from Bain & Co. says.
While interest rates have risen and many investors are worried about the future, a long-expected recession hasn't arrived, and many private-equity deal makers are ready to get back to work, said Hugh MacArthur, chairman of private equity for the Boston-based consulting firm. "Fundamentally, nothing is broken in the global economy," he said.
BOJ Gov. Nominee Ueda Says Merits of Easing Outweigh Side Effects
Kazuo Ueda, the Japanese government's nominee for the Bank of Japan's next governor, said Monday that he believes the benefits of monetary easing are bigger than the costs, as inflation is expected to fall below the central bank's 2% target later this year.
"By continuing monetary easing and supporting overall demand, it is possible to achieve the 2% inflation target in a sustainable and stable manner along with wage growth," Mr. Ueda said in Parliament on Monday. "Merits of monetary easing outweigh the side effects."
Apartment Rents Fall as Crush of New Supply Hits Market
Apartment rents fell in every major metropolitan area in the U.S. over the past six months through January, a trend that is poised to continue as the biggest delivery of new apartments in nearly four decades is slated for this year.
Renters with new leases in January paid a median rent that was 3.5% lower than they would have paid last August, according to estimates from listing website Apartment List. It was the first time in five years that rent fell every month over a six-month period, according to the same estimates.
The Stock Market Doesn't Look Cheap-Any Way You Slice It
Stock indexes closed another losing week in a downbeat February, as investors continue to debate the path of the economy and monetary policy. It's a decidedly muddled outlook for the market from a fundamental perspective, with an equal amount of data on the bullish and bearish sides of the ledger.
Information can be interpreted as good news or bad news, depending on one's proclivities and time frame-a stronger economy now could just mean more Fed tightening and a harder fall into recession later, after all.
Tech Carried the Stock Market. Now They're Taking It Down With Them.
The prospect of still-higher short- and long-term interest rates produced the worst week for the S&P 500 index in the relatively young year, a drop of 2.67%, and the third straight down week for the big-cap benchmark. The Dow Jones Industrial Average's losing streak stretched into its fourth week with a 2.99% decline, its biggest since last September, which put the blue chips in the red for 2023. The Nasdaq Composite shed 3.33%, as the rate threat weighed especially heavily on technology stocks with high valuations, about which more in a minute.
What makes the situation for stocks and other risk assets unfavorable isn't just the possibility that interest rates may have further to rise. It's also that this is looming at the same time the economy is losing steam, something many investors haven't experienced.
Russia Launches New Wave of Iranian-Made Drones Against Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine-Russia launched a new wave of Iranian-made drones against Ukrainian cities, breaking a weekslong lull in such attacks, as its forces continued to tighten their grip around the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut.
Ukraine's military said it shot down 11 out of 14 Iranian-made Shahed drones late Sunday and early Monday, including all nine that were aimed at the capital city of Kyiv. The remaining three drones, however, hit targets in the central city of Khmelnytskyi, with explosions there killing two rescue workers and injuring three other people, according to the local government. Russia also fired S-300 missiles at the southern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, hitting an infrastructure site but causing no casualties, the local government said.
Lab Leak Most Likely Origin of Covid-19 Pandemic, Energy Department Now Says
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress.
The shift by the Energy Department, which previously was undecided on how the virus emerged, is noted in an update to a 2021 document by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines's office.
CIA Chief Says China Has Doubts About Its Ability to Invade Taiwan
WASHINGTON-Russia's struggles to seize and keep territory in Ukraine over the past year has likely fueled doubts by Chinese leader Xi Jinping that China's military could successfully invade Taiwan later this decade, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said.
"I think our judgment at least is that (Chinese) President Xi and his military leadership have doubts today about whether they could accomplish that invasion," Mr. Burns said Sunday on CBS. "As they've looked at Putin's experience in Ukraine, that's probably reinforced some of those doubts."
SpaceX Mission to International Space Station Postponed
SpaceX and NASA postponed the company's planned launch of crew to the International Space Station early Monday because of an issue related to an ignition fluid, the agency said.
The Elon Musk-led company had been scheduled to send four people to the research laboratory for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at 1.45 a.m. ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Mexicans Rally Nationwide Against President's Electoral Overhaul
MEXICO CITY-Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans rallied across the country for the second time in less than four months against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's overhaul of the country's independent election agency, saying it will cripple its ability to organize next year's presidential election.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
02-27-23 0628ET
