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Russia uses Indian and Chinese tankers and violates “price ceiling” sanctions

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Russia uses Indian and Chinese tankers and violates “price ceiling” sanctions

Russia uses Indian and Chinese tankers and violates “price ceiling” sanctions

Western reports on Monday expected Russia to achieve higher revenues from oil exports this year despite higher price ceilings imposed on it by the Group of Seven and the European Union in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

An analysis of shipping data cited by the Financial Times today shows that Russia now ships three-quarters of its oil abroad without Western insurance, one of the tools used by the G7 and the EU to impose a cap above $60 a barrel. .

Prices are rising, the report says, and Russian crude oil is no exception. Urals crude is currently trading at approximately $79 per barrel, while Aspo crude, a Far East blend, is trading at more than $88 per barrel.

This spring, the Financial Times cited data from the US firm Kpler which noted that Russia transports half of its oil exports without Western insurance, indicating that “Moscow has become more adept at avoiding price ceiling sanctions imposed by the G7”. on energy.

These high prices for Russian raw materials come amid repeated assurances from the US Treasury that the maximum price ceiling “worked as intended”.

US Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemo said last June: “In just six months, the maximum price ceiling for Russian raw materials has contributed to a significant decline in Russian revenues, and contributed to a major turning point in the war.”

Last August, US Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy Eric Van Nostrand said he was “confident that the price ceiling achieves the dual goals of curbing Russian revenues and helping to stabilize energy markets.”

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The Financial Times newspaper cited the Kiev School of Economics as estimating that this year, Russia’s revenue from oil exports will rise by $15 billion due to the breach of price ceilings set by the Group of Seven and the European Union.

Critics of the price ceiling have argued from the outset that implementing it would be challenging for Western countries and relatively easy for Russian companies to avoid.

In fact, Russian, Chinese, and Indian insurance companies intervened in the transport of Russian oil instead of large Western insurance companies, and what the media called the “dark fleet” tankers were built to ship Russian crude around the world without the participation of Western companies.

But despite all this, the sanctions regime has had a significant impact since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Western reports estimate will cost Russia $100 billion in oil exports from February 2022, but the problems facing the oil industry in Russia are simply beyond that. Challenges Exports Domestic shortages of diesel fuel have forced the Kremlin to restrict fuel exports from the country.

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Economy

The world’s central banks are increasing their reserves… Details in 10 facts

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The world’s central banks are increasing their reserves… Details in 10 facts


Books – Islam Saeed

Sunday, December 3, 2023 at 03:00 AM

Central banks around the world continue to demand… Gold In 2023, gold trends for the third quarter of the current year 2023 as per the reports of the World Gold Council show that the demand for gold by banks has increased.

Central banks added 337 tonnes in the third quarter of 2023

The third largest buying level in the quarter reached by central banks

In the third quarter of 2022, banks bought a large amount of 459 tonnes of gold..

Since the beginning of 2023, demand by central banks has increased by more than 14%.

Total bank purchases of gold since the beginning of 2023 have reached a record high of 800 tonnes of gold.

Gold reserves reported by global central banks rose by a net 77 tonnes in September.

Central bank’s gold sale is only 1 ton.

– Fund outflows from gold investment funds continued in October, $2 billion

Since the beginning of the year, the funds’ investments have fallen 6%.

– Total cash outflows from gold-backed global investment funds have hit $13 billion since the start of the year



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Oil loses 2% as investors worry about OPEC plus cuts

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Oil loses 2% as investors worry about OPEC plus cuts

Oil prices settled up more than 2% – yesterday, Friday – after a volatile trading week as the market anxiously watched the latest round of OPEC Plus production cuts and a slowdown in global production activity.

Brent crude futures for February delivery were down 2.45% at $78.88 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 1.9% at $74.07.

For the week, Brent posted a decline of about 2.1%, while the West Texas Intermediate posted a decline of more than 1.9%.

On Thursday, oil-producing countries in the OPEC Plus alliance – which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other countries including Russia – agreed to cut global oil production by about 2.2 million barrels on the world market. per day in the first quarter of next year, including… extending current voluntary cuts by 1.3 million barrels per day from Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The OPEC Plus alliance – which accounts for more than 40% of the world’s oil – is focused on cutting production, with prices falling from around $98 a barrel in late September, amid fears of weaker economic growth in 2024.

A survey showed that the US manufacturing sector is still weak, with the factory employment rate falling last November.

On Friday, talks to extend a week-long ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement (Hamas) collapsed, leading to renewed fighting in Gaza that could disrupt global oil supplies, Reuters reported.

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A private credit boom leads to a new crisis

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A private credit boom leads to a new crisis

If this is a “golden moment” for private lending, where will things go? What are the risks? Higher interest rates and turmoil in regional banks earlier this year have boosted confidence in the recovery of private credit. According to data provider Preqin, the market is expected to grow from $1.6 trillion to $2.8 trillion this year. BlackRock takes a more optimistic view, predicting the market will grow to $3.2 trillion.

Mark Rowan, CEO of private equity firm Apollo, sees “de-banking” in its early stages, while John Gray, chairman of BlackRock, coined the phrase “golden moment” to describe conditions in private capital at the start of the year. .

If the new banking rules under Federal Reserve regulations are considered a catalyst, capital requirements for the commercial banking industry in the US are likely to increase by up to 35%, according to Oliver Wyman, the world’s leading management consultancy. company — and no wonder Jamie Dimon said. , head of JP Morgan, said private lenders would be “very happy.”

How things develop in the market will be a key issue not only for large firms and banks in the private market, but also for traditional asset managers who have begun to use the capabilities of the private market to avoid the extreme rise of passive asset management. . This coincides with at least 26 traditional asset managers buying or launching new private credit units in the past two years.

This shift confirms the extent to which the structure of the financial market has changed. 20 years ago, when I was working at Morgan Stanley, I noted in a research paper that investor flows would split into barbells. On the one hand, investors would flock to passive, exchange-traded funds to get record returns. They are cheap and convenient. On the other hand, investors looking for higher returns will use asset allocation with specialist fund managers who invest in private equity, hedge funds and real estate. For traditional “major” fund managers, caught between the two, they will be pressured to make their investment machines more specialized or merge to increase their size, which has already been achieved.

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According to ETFGI, ETFs have grown from $218 billion in 2003 to $10.3 trillion last October, but what’s surprising is how unbalanced the situation has become in terms of returns, with management fees likely to account for half of the investment sector. to alternative asset managers in 2023 from 28% in 2003.

Central banks are now scaling back their quantitative easing, which was implemented to support economies and markets, which has traditionally supported corporate profits. Without these tailwinds, the pressures on fund managers become more severe. So, how will the transition to private lending proceed?

Currently, Preqin estimates that just 10 companies have received 40% of private credit resources in the last 24 months. There are three reasons why private credit growth has disproportionately favored these large firms.

First, a good amount of growth is expected from the sale of investment portfolios by regional banks, which have to reduce their debt and are forced to sell good assets. The central bank’s new rules signal an inability for big banks to step up. In light of the large portfolio sizes and the speed required for transactions, the acquisition of these assets is a specialized venture that is in the interest of large companies that can underwrite the risks.

Second, a growing number of deals require more money, and August saw a new record for the largest loan, reaching $4.8 billion for fintech firm Finastra. The third and most important reason is that banks prefer to enter into partnerships so as not to lose access to customers. Even though tougher rules mean they have to divest assets, banks want to continue lending and partnering to help manage deal flows, which could benefit larger firms.

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Several major banks have already closed deals and more are expected to follow. Citi is the latest bank to report its intention to launch a new unit in 2024.

A changing interest rate regime will mean loan losses rise as funding costs normalize and exposed weak balance sheets, which will be a source of challenges for private lenders. It may be unwise for new companies to try to exploit the growth. This requires a strong focus on the risks and rewards of selection and contracts, and teams that specialize in reconciliation, which many of the major players in the market have.

Of course, there will be key opportunities, such as hard credit or energy infrastructure credit, that are places that efficient companies can tap into, but they may not be on the scale that traditional companies need to maximize opportunities.

In general, a complete and comprehensive shift in capital allocation awaits us, requiring a major shift towards private credit, as Howard Marks recently argued, but the coming tide will not smooth all boats.

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