The fact that they blew the Nord Stream 1 & 2 should tell you that some people are getting desperate. No natural gas has been flowing from those two pipelines so, why did they destroy it? It shows desperation as Russia continues to sell its oil and natural gas. India and China are ready buyers as they are able to re-sell the Russian oil and natural gas to Europe at full market price. The Philippines has recently, also said it will buy Russian oil. Makes perfect sense when Russia is also, in Asia. Way cheaper to buy it from Russia than Saudi Arabia on the shipping costs alone tacked on the cost of the oil itself. OPEC is also, cutting oil production which should guarantee high prices for the price of oil. Less oil supply means the US and Europe has to pay up. Joe Biden continues to bleed the US strategic oil reserve to sell cheap oil to Europe. It is going to be gone soon and there will not be any cheap oil on the oil market. Let us see the genius work it out. Natural gas to Europe just got more expensive as the additional shipping costs will add to the high prices of natural gas. Natural gas has gone up 300% in Europe for consumers. US and Europe will be destroyed economically in a few months. Russia will continue to make huge sums on oil and natural gas and continue waging war on Ukraine.
Great news for the Putin bootlickers. Unemployment is at record low in Russia. I wonder if the fact that many working age people have fled the country, are in the army or have been killed is a factor. Russian unemployment rate hits record low, economic data paints mixed picture https://www.reuters.com/markets/eur...conomic-data-paints-mixed-picture-2022-09-28/
I am chuckling this morning at a report about Russian airlines cancelling flights due to lack of staff. Over 50% of their staff have received mobilization notices.
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-O...ussian-Crude-Could-Cause-Tanker-Shortage.html comment: Carlos Everett on September 27 2022 said: " Something that you did not address, is Russia current pump capacity to pump oil into ships is going to be a limiting factor vs. how fast a ship to ship transfer can occur. In addition, the pipeline size from the tanks to the pumps and pipe size from the pump to the ship could logically need to be enlarged. Installing larger pumps to handle these larger volumes is quite expensive in pumping onshore onto the ship and i doubt Russia has access to such larger pumps, so even if you have VLCC's sitting offshore, if you cannot pump large volumes, then these pumps will be the constraint not the ships and their longer voyage. So, the logistics are not something Russia are equipped to resolve all of these constraints. What you really have is the making of a disaster and the loser is going to be the Russian people, but they have allowed Putin to remain in power. This might cause 1917 to be revisited. "
This will still make the Russians a tertiary dollar reserve economy. They are locked out of the US market so they are dependent on the Chinese now. The Chinese in turn need US dollars as reserve because their domestic market is still pretty shoddy and their debt is enormous. Having Russia as a vassal may help the Chinese but the Russians will be dependent on the Chinese dollar reserves to keep the the system afloat. The Chinese need to start thinking this stuff through because of the situation gets dire with things like a tactical nuke then punishing the Russians through sanctions on the Chinese will most likely be a point of leverage. And the Chinese are not in a strong financial situation right now.
Dont forget the ruble is at an all time high too! Everything is awesome in Russia. War is going great, economy is expanding and general peace throughout the land. Lovely place.
Russia is trying to enhance its own commercial airline industry -- but it will be hard to build modern, safe planes without components from the West. The bulk of new planes would be coming out in 2030 but some as early as 2024. Russia Says Goodbye To Airbus And Boeing And Goes It Alone Although Russia holds on to hundreds of stolen Airbus and Boeing jets, it says it doesn't need the West anymore and will go it alone. https://simpleflying.com/russia-goodbye-airbus-boeing-goes-alone/ In the latest sign that Russia is cutting its ties with the west, state-owned conglomerate Rostec said it would deliver more than 1,000 locally-made airplanes by the decade's end. A report by Reuters yesterday quoted written responses from the manufacturing giant, in which Rostec said: "Foreign aircraft will drop out of the fleet. We believe that this process is irreversible, and Boeing and Airbus planes will never [again] be delivered to Russia. We don't expect sanctions to be eased and we are building our plans based on the existing tough scenario." Earlier this month, Aeroflot confirmed it had ordered 339 locally built Russian aircraft in an 'import-substituted' form. This means that only parts made in Russia or not sourced from so-called unfriendly countries can be used, including the engines. At the time, Rostec general director Sergei Chemezov said that of the 339 aircraft, almost 300 were new-generation Irkut MS-21 and Superjet aircraft and that the MS-21 would be the flagship of the Aeroflot fleet. The MC-21 and MS-21 are the same aircraft, and it's just that the nomenclature changes in translation. An interesting aspect of the Aeroflot order is that ch-aviation.com data shows the airline currently has 306 aircraft, compared to the 339 locally-made types it has ordered. Its only Russian-built airliners are 76 SSJ 100/95Bs, with the other 230 a mix of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. There are 130 Airbus A320-family and 48 Boeing B737s, the types likely to be replaced by MS-21, which is not due to enter service until 2024/26. Aeroflot's widebody fleet of 52 is a mix of Airbus A330s and A350s and Boeing B747s and B777s. Lots of work for local engine OEMs In June, Russia's aviation development plan said it would produce 20 import-substituted Superjet SSJ100/95NEW annually from 2024. However, the Aeroflot announcement said the new regional jet will start to be delivered in 2023, despite the fact the aircraft is not yet fully certified. The hold-up is with the engines, which were previously made by Power-Jet, a France-Russia joint venture between Safran and NPO Saturn. With France now deemed an unfriendly country, that arrangement is done and dusted, although Rostec said it would deliver about 20 more jets with SaM-146 engines it has in stock. Rostec told Reuters: "They will be the last ones where our partner solutions with Safran are used. Then we will install PD-8 engines on this type of aircraft." Engines are also an issue on the MS-21, which was initially going to use the Pratt & Whitney GTF PW1400G. The MS-21 is a narrowbody aircraft with a single-class capacity of up to 211 passengers and a range of around 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers), making it the closest Russian aircraft to an Airbus A320 or Boeing B737 type. It made its maiden flight in 2017 and is now due to enter service between 2024 and 2026. With the PW1400G off the wing, the alternative Russian-made Aviadvigatel PD-14 is now the powerplant of choice. Rostec confirmed this by saying: "From this year, we don't rely on international cooperation with Western countries. We can say with confidence that the MS-21 with American-made engines will not be delivered to the Russian market." Apart from fleet renewal and grand statements about not needing western aircraft, the real issue is how to keep the existing aircraft operating until the locally made types are available. This applies not only to Aeroflot but to all Russian airlines operating foreign aircraft, and while cannibalizing parts is happening already, that is only sustainable for so long. There have been suggestions that Iran, a friendly country, will be a source of counterfeit parts for Russian airlines, but with so many new generation aircraft operating in Russia, is that really a feasible solution? Source: Reuters
An update on companies that have left Russia... Over 1,000 Companies Have Curtailed Operations in Russia—But Some Remain https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-1000-companies-have-curtailed-operations-russia-some-remain Since the invasion of Ukraine began, we have been tracking the responses of well over 1,200 companies, and counting. Over 1,000 companies have publicly announced they are voluntarily curtailing operations in Russia to some degree beyond the bare minimum legally required by international sanctions — but some companies have continued to operate in Russia undeterred. Originally a simple "withdraw" vs. "remain" list, our list of companies now consists of five categories—graded on a school-style letter grade scale of A-F for the completeness of withdrawal. The list below is updated continuously by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and his team of experts, research fellows, and students at the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute to reflect new announcements from companies in as close to real time as possible. (Much more at above url)
Russians Stock Up for Battlefield, Fearing Army Lacks Supplies Regulator to probe price spikes for outdoor, military goods Mobilization order has draftees buying up camping equipment A recruitment officer directs a reservist to a bus at a mobilization center in Moscow. Source: Getty Images Bloomberg News 30 September 2022 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...fearing-army-lacks-supplies?srnd=premium-asia Russians called up to fight in President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine are buying up everything from camping gear to body armor, worried that his undersupplied army won’t be able to provide them with even the basics when they arrive at the front. Prices for military-style clothing and equipment have surged so much that regulators said Friday they’re opening a probe into whether some retailers may be gouging. Since Putin on Sept. 21 ordered 300,000 reservists mobilized to revive his struggling invasion of Ukraine, social media have been filled with reports of overwhelmed local commanders telling draftees they’ll have to provide most of their own equipment. While gun sales are tightly restricted, other necessities like warm underwear, bullet-proof vests, sleeping bags, first-aid kits and helmets have been selling out. Some stores have reported 40% increases in the numbers of buyers, while prices are up 10%-20%, according to Russian newspaper reports. — With assistance by Benjamin Harvey
Russian economy nosediving into 'crisis' as sanctions bite deeper into Putin's pocket Putin's war machine is likely to grind to a halt next year if sanctions stay in force, projections indicate. https://www.express.co.uk/news/worl...is-sanctions-putin-war-ukraine-annex-zelensky