Author: BlackMask Financial

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Biden’s approval rating dips to lowest of presidency… Putin’s job approval rating stable at nearly 80% – poll

President Joe Biden’s approval rating dipped to the lowest point of his presidency in May, a new poll shows, with deepening pessimism emerging among members of his own Democratic Party. Only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s performance as president, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, dipping from already negative ratings a month earlier. Overall, only about 2 in 10 adults say the U.S. is heading in the right direction or the economy is good, both down from about 3 in 10 a month earlier. Those drops were concentrated among Democrats, with just 33% within the president’s party saying the country is headed in the right direction, down from 49% in April. Of particular concern for Biden ahead of the midterm elections, his approval among Democrats stands at 73%, a substantial drop since earlier in his presidency. In AP-NORC polls conducted in 2021, Biden’s approval rating among Democrats never dropped below 82%.

The findings reflect a widespread sense of exasperation in a country facing a cascade of challenges ranging from inflation, gun violence, and a sudden shortage of baby formula to a persistent pandemic.

“I don’t know how much worse it can get,” said Milan Ramsey, a 29-year-old high school counselor and Democrat in Santa Monica, California, who with her husband had to move into her parents’ house to raise their infant son. Ramsey thinks the economic dysfunction that’s led to her being unable to afford the place where she grew up isn’t Biden’s fault. But she’s alarmed he hasn’t implemented ambitious plans for fighting climate change or fixing health care. “He hasn’t delivered on any of the promises. I feel like the stimulus checks came out and that was the last win of his administration,” Ramsey said of Biden. “I think he’s tired — and I don’t blame him, I’d be tired too at his age with the career he’s had.” Republicans have not been warm to Biden for a while. Less than 1 in 10 approve of the president or his handling of the economy, but that’s no different from last month. Overall, two-thirds of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. That rating is largely unchanged over the last few months, though elevated slightly since the first two months of the year. But there are signs that the dissatisfaction with Biden on the economy has deepened. Just 18% of Americans say Biden’s policies have done more to help than hurt the economy, down slightly from 24% in March. Fifty-one percent say they’ve done more to hurt than help, while 30% say they haven’t made much difference either way. The percentage of Democrats who say Biden’s policies have done more to help dipped from 45% to 37%, though just 18% say they’ve done more to hurt; 44% say they’ve made no difference. The new poll shows just 21% of Americans say they have “a great deal of confidence” in Biden’s ability to handle the situation in Ukraine; 39% say they have some confidence and 39% say they have hardly any.

 

“The Democrats in the long run have spay the political price. The AP-NORC poll of 1,172 adults was conducted May 12-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. NN:

Putin’s job approval rating stable at nearly 80% – poll

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s job approval from May 10 to May 15 was 77.7%, declining slightly but mostly in line with polls conducted over the past two months, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM or VCIOM) revealed in a survey posted on Friday. Meanwhile, 13.9% of the surveyed population said that they do not approve of Putin’s work. The Russian president’s approval rating from February 7 to 13 was 64.1%, according to the same pollster. Russia began its military operation in Ukraine on February 24. NN: To believe Putin is losing is the height of nativity. Reality here is the world is in a ugly place fighting a economic war it does not see nor understand,.  And unfortunately cannot win. A global depression bought on by the Putin oil and food war. An assault on the sleeping democracies.

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China Spent Over $6 Billion on Russian Energy Imports in April…. Italy boosts oil imports from Russia – report

China kept buying more energy from Russia, with purchases of oil, gas and coal jumping 75% in April to over $6 billion, even as domestic demand slowed due to a resurgent virus and the US and Europe moved away from purchases. Imports of Russian liquefied natural gas surged 80% from a year earlier to 463,000 tons, according to Chinese customs data on Friday. That’s despite China’s total imports of the super-chilled fuel dropping by more than a third as lockdowns and other restrictions on industrial activity choked demand. Crude imports, meanwhile, rose 4% on the year to 6.55 million tons, with Russia again behind only Saudi Arabia as China’s main source of oil.  The surge in prices that accompanied Russia’s invasion of Ukraine boosted the value of China’s purchases of mineral fuels, including coal, to $6.42 billion. It means that 72% of China’s total imports in April from its strategic partner were energy-related. The volume figures for gas don’t include pipeline imports, which haven’t been reported since the start of the year, but the Power of Siberia link is a major conduit of the fuel to China. Moreover, Beijing is in discussions with Moscow to replenish its strategic crude stockpiles with cheaper Russian oil, a sign that energy ties between the two are only likely to strengthen as Russia’s westward markets wither due to the war in Ukraine.

Italy boosts oil imports from Russia

In May 2022, Italy imported the most Russian oil since 2013, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing information from commodity data company Kpler. The May figure stood at 450,000 barrels per day, jumping over 300% in comparison to February 2022. Italy could surpass the Netherlands, currently the biggest importer of seaborne Russian oil in the European Union, according to the report. The increase in imports was mostly attributed to the ISAB refinery, which is owned by PJSC Lukoil from Russia but has had a diverse list of suppliers before banking aid from the EU stopped following the February events in eastern Europe. Due to a lack of EU financing, the refinery near Sicily has had to focus on oil supplies only from Lukoil, which is not formally under the sanctions regime. NN: As you can see other then liberal touchiee feelie spin NOTHING has been accomplished… Well not exactly- they have started WWIII. And destroyed Ukraine.

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Ruble at multiyear highs against dollar, euro… So who is fucking who with these stupid sanctions?

 The Russian rouble firmed past 64 per dollar on Monday, briefly jumping to 62.71 to the greenback, and climbed towards its highest in nearly five years against the euro, supported by continuing restrictions on currency trading. The rouble is the world’s best-performing currency so far this year, although this is due to artificial support from capital controls that Russia imposed to shield its financial sector in late February after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. The situation on the domestic currency market has been the same for several weeks, and the rouble keeps firming as foreign currency supply exceeds demand, Alexander Dzhioev, an analyst at Alfa Capital, said. Central bank data showed on Monday that Russia’s current account surplus more than tripled from January to April to $95.8 billion, boosted by higher proceeds from imports and a drop in imports “It seems the point of equilibrium has not been found so far,” Dzhioev said of the rouble rate. It was unclear whether President Vladimir Putin’s demand for gas payments in roubles had also supported the currency. At 1500 GMT, the rouble was 1.5% stronger against the dollar at 63.59 , close to its strongest since early February 2020 of 62.6250, which it hit on Friday.  “The current capital control measures brought the rouble back to pre-pandemic levels,” Rosbank analysts said in a note, forecasting that the rouble would slide to 90 to the dollar by year-end. “In the near future, a new committee on FX market regulation may adjust these restrictions, but until then, the USD/RUB consolidation may stick to the lower bound of the 63.0-70.0 range.” Against the euro, the rouble rose 1.6% to 66.05 , staying near its strongest level since June 2017 of 64.9425, which it touched on the Moscow Exchange on Friday. Moscow’s standoff with the West and fears of a new sanctions package to punish Russia for what it calls “a special military operation” in Ukraine are in focus. But their impact is cushioned by the requirement export-focused companies convert foreign currency and other restrictions. “The rouble firming today may be moderate but the dollar rate could gradually decline to 62,” Promsvyazbank analysts said in a note. The dollar-denominated RTS index (.IRTS) was up 3% at 1,165.7 points. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index (.IMOEX) rose 2% to 2,354.1 points. It was possible the MOEX index would enter the 2,400-2,500 range this week, Promsvyazbank said. NN: When you push things to far it can blow up in your face. Its hard for Americans to realize Pax America is over. American can not supply its population domestically with food, energy, manufactured goods and the metals and minerals it consumes….. Yes America can produce an abundance of movies, video games and internet fantasies… But you will soon learn millennials cannot eat their game boy or latest smart phone. And whats app and Facebook does not fuel your car or heat/cool your house. No empire has ever survived when it source of critical supplies is their enemies.

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Germany could receive LNG from Qatar as early as 2024, sheikh tells Handelsblatt….. THAT SOON!

Qatar hopes to start sending liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Germany in 2024, the Gulf state’s deputy prime minister told the German daily Handelsblatt on Friday. “We want to have our U.S. Golden Pass liquefied natural gas plant in Texas, in which Qatar Energy holds a 70% stake, ready to deliver to Germany as early as 2024,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who is also the Qatari foreign minister, was quoted as saying. Later Friday, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is scheduled to hold talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin. German plans to set up LNG terminals are picking up speed as the country scrambles to wean itself off cheaper gas imports piped from Russia in response to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. NN: “Could be as early as 2024….”.  could be, should be are weasel words. Reality is sufficient supplies of much more expensive shipped by sea LNG to replace piped natural gas will not arrive until mid 2025 at the earliest. Germany is 3 winters away. So either people freeze and their industry shuts down and there economy returns to the 1800’s. OR they kiss Putin’s ass…. All i can say is their is whole lot of ass kissing going on…..

 

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Analyst Warns Of A Fuel Shortage Crisis In The U.S.

  • Low fuel inventories could lead to a crisis this summer in the U.S.
  • Refinery outages could be disastrous during this period of supply tightness.
  • Sankey: we’ve never seen inventories this low, particularly in the northeast.

Very low inventories of oil products in the United States and a shortage of refining capacity have laid the foundations for an oil shortage crisis in the United States this summer, Paul Sankey, Lead Analyst at Sankey Research, told CNBC in an interview on Thursday.  “I just don’t think there’s anything the Administration can do about it,” Sankey said, referring to the fact that a refinery cannot be built in time to ease the gasoline and diesel crunch. Asked about what would happen if an operating refinery were to stop production because of an accident or a hurricane, Sankey said, “we’re on the verge of a U.S. oil crisis as it is, obviously what I’m talking about is shortages.” “We’ve never seen inventories this low, particularly in the northeast. We haven’t seen gasoline this low at this time of year in history,” the analyst added. With the hurricane season later in the year, “We might have a crisis this summer, I’m telling you,” Sankey said. There is a global shortage of refining capacity, and currently the energy world “is completely insane”, he noted.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that insufficient investment in global refining capacity is one of the key drivers of the global rally in gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices.

There isn’t a quick fix for all-time high fuel prices in America— or elsewhere — analysts say. The quickest fix is not one that American consumers would want — a recession that would lead to job losses. Some 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of refinery capacity in America has been shut permanently since the start of the pandemic. In the U.S., operable refinery capacity was at just over 18 million bpd in 2021, the lowest since 2015, per EIA data. Rising demand since economies reopened and people returned to travel, combined with lower refining capacity and very tight distillate markets have drawn down U.S. product inventories to below seasonal averages and at multi-year lows, with record-low inventories reported on the East Coast. NN: We are in a full blown energy anf food crises….. Now add run away inflation and can easiely see the coming stock and real estate crash. Forget airbag deployment….. Get ouof the car

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Oil prices reverse losses as US inventories drop

Oil prices rebounded from two days of losses in a volatile session on Thursday, bolstered by weakness in the dollar and expectations that China could ease some lockdown restrictions that could boost demand.

Crude benchmarks continued their spate of wild swings, with both Brent and U.S. crude rising by nearly $5 a barrel in the span of a few hours, recovering from losses earlier in the week.

“The market has been extremely volatile,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. “The market is reacting to all sorts of different headlines hour to hour, and the movement in oil markets on a day-by-day basis getting even more exaggerated.” Brent crude futures for July settled at $112.04, a gain of $2.93 a barrel, or 2.7%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for June settled up $2.62, or 2.4%, to $112.21 a barrel. In China, investors are closely watching plans to ease coronavirus curbs from June 1 in the most populous city of Shanghai, which could lead to a rebound in oil demand from the world’s top crude importer. Oil markets also rebounded as the dollar weakened. The broad dollar index was down 1% on the day after recent gains. Oil benchmarks often move inversely to the dollar as most global crude transactions are handled in dollars, so a rising greenback makes crude more expensive for big importers. Crude gains have been limited, however, with the Brent and U.S. benchmarks trading in a range due to the uncertain path of demand. Investors, worried about rising inflation and more aggressive action from central banks, have been reducing exposure to riskier assets. “Brent seems pinned above $100 but I think the recession risk and all of the concerns about Chinese demand are limiting the upside and will continue to do that,” said Bill Farren-Price, head of oil and gas macro research at Enverus in London. The looming possibility of a European Union ban on Russian oil imports has been supporting prices. This month the EU proposed a new package of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.” That would include a total ban on oil imports in six months’ time, but the measures have not yet been adopted, with Hungary among the most vocal critics of the plan.

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Covid US: Nearly 100,000 cases a day recorded for first time since February

The United States is nearing numbers of average daily coronavirus cases not seen since winter as the Indian ‘Delta’ variant continues to spread across the country. On Thursday, officials recorded 109,824 new cases of the virus with a seven-day rolling average of 98,518. The U.S. is almost at an average of 100,000 per day, which hasn’t been seen since mid-February. This figure also represents a 277 percent increase from the average of 26.079 reported three weeks ago, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.     Every state and the District of Columbia have seen COVID-19 infections either increase or remain steady in the last seven days.   Deaths are also beginning to rise after remaining relatively low for several weeks.   There were 535 COVID-19 fatalities recorded on Thursday with a seven-day rolling average of 426, which is a 58 percent increase from 268 recorded three weeks prior and the highest since June 9. Health experts say the cause is mainly due to the highly transmissible Delta variant spading in areas with low vaccination rates.  It comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that 93 percent of all cases are linked to the variant, including its subtypes. CDc director Dr Rochelle Walensky warned that while the COVID-19 vaccines work, vaccinated people  – who make up 50 percent of the population – are still capable of transmitting the virus if they have a breakthrough infection.  ‘Our vaccines are working exceptionally well,’ Walensky told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday night.  ‘They continue to work well for Delta, with regard to severe illness and death – they prevent it. But what they can’t do anymore is prevent transmission.’  On Thursday, the U.S. recorded 109,824 new cases of COVID-19 with a seven-day rolling average of 98,518, inching the country closer to 100,000 cases per day and a 277% increase from 26,079 recorded three weeks ago

COVID-19 deaths are also rising with 535 recorded on Thursday and a seven-day rolling average of 426, which is the 58% than recorded three weeks ago

Every state and the District from Columbia are seeing coronavirus cases either increase or hold steady in the last week CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky said on Thursday that COVID-19 vaccines work but that they ‘can’t prevent transmission’ for fully vaccinated people with breakthrough cases Several states – particularly those across the South such as Florida, Louisiana, Texas and South Carolina, have been seeing cases spiking over the past month. However, Walensky believes that these states have not yet reached their peak.   More Americans have been getting vaccinated recently with with 864,000 doses administered on Wednesday, including 585,000 Americans getting their first doses, the highest single-day totals in more than month. However, Walensky told CNN that she believes if more Americans don’t get vaccinated, the U.S. may see ‘several hundred thousand cases a day’ as was the situation during the deadly winter surge. In Louisiana, cases are rising rapidly from an average of 2,414 per day to 6,527 per day (left). Currently, 2,247 patients are hospitalized with the virus, a record-high number (right) Over the last two weeks In Louisiana, average COVID-19 cases have increased by 170 percent from 2,414 per day to 6,527 per day, a DailyMail.com analysis found.  The figure also represents the highest average number of cases recorded since the start of the pandemic According to the Louisiana Department of Health, there are currently 2,247 Covid patients hospitalized, which is a record-high number, 89 percent of whom are not vaccinated.   Our Lady of the Lake in Baton Rouge one COVID-19 patient is being admitted every hour on average with a federal assistance team helping with the rise.’These are the darkest days of our pandemic,’ Dr Catherine O’Neal, chief medical officer of the hospital, told The New York Times.  Governor John Bel Edwards said the rise in cases is due to a mix of the spread of the Delta variant and low vaccination rates.  ‘The Delta variant is a game-changer, and at this point, it’s not whether we vaccinate or mask, we have to do both,’ Edwards said at a news conference on Monday. ‘Our latest numbers confirm that we simply have to do more.’  Recently, South Carolina has also been emerging as a new pandemic hotspot. In the last two weeks, cases have soared by 383 percent over the last 14 days from an average of 718 per day to 3,472 per day, one of the biggest increases seen in the U.S. Hospitalizations have also risen by 211 percent over the same time period from 271 patients to 845, according to data from the CDC.

At Conway Medical Center in Horry County, tents are being erected to help treat a growing number of COVID-19 patients.  

‘Truly this is gut-wrenching,’ Dr Paul Richardson, the hospital’s chief medical officer, told The Sun News.  ‘To have to put these tents back up because our numbers are going back up to the levels they are necessary is very discouraging. We are on a trajectory to head back towards numbers we haven’t seen for nearly a year.’  In South Carolina, only 47.2 percent of residents have received at least an initial shot of the COVID-19 vaccine and 47.1 percent are fully vaccinated. NN: it ain’t over till its over… Its backkkkkkkkkkkk.

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Half of Gazprom’s 54 clients opened Gazprombank accounts, says Russia’s Novak

(Bloomberg) — Around half of Gazprom PJSC’s foreign clients have complied with a request from Russia’s president to open accounts with Gazprombank JSC, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. The shift in procedure follows a demand by Vladimir Putin in March that foreign buyers open ruble and foreign-currency accounts at the bank to handle payments for natural gas. But European companies have feared that doing so might violate sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. “I think we have about 54 companies that have contracts with Gazprom Export,” Novak said Thursday at an event in Moscow. “According to the data I have, about half of them have already opened special accounts in our authorized bank — foreign currency and ruble accounts.” Novak, who is also Russia’s top energy official, did not name the companies or countries complying with the new payment mechanism, saying only that some of Gazprom’s major clients have either paid for deliveries or are ready to pay on time, avoiding a supply cutoff. The market remains wary as payment deadlines fast approach. Moscow has already halted supplies to Poland and Bulgaria for non-compliance, and Finland has said there’s a “real risk” that flows will end this week as it’s refusing to pay in rubles. The European Union, which last year imported about 40% of its gas from Russia, has found itself divided over Putin’s order. The bloc has told member states that the proposed payment mechanism violates sanctions, yet there’s been nothing in writing from the European Commission that explicitly stops companies from paying Gazprom under the new rules. The global energy market has been roiled by the war in Ukraine, with concerns surrounding not only gas but oil supplies too. Russia’s oil production, which declined in March and April, is now recovering and will continue to grow in June, Novak said at the forum. “In April, we cut production by some 1 million barrels a day, and in May we have increased it by 200,000 to 300,000 barrels,” he said. “We expect a further recovery in June.” Many crude buyers have shunned Russian barrels following the invasion, though some Asian importers have stepped in to take shipments at discounted rates. Russian producers have been able to redirect some of their deliveries from regions such as the EU to other markets, from where flows may be shipped back to Europe, Novak said. Russia’s Economy Ministry expects the nation’s oil output to drop to 475.3 million tons this year, down 9.3% from 2021, according to a base-case scenario published this week. Almost half of that production — 228.3 million tons — will be sent abroad, a decline of only 1.2% on an annual basis, while the slump in oil-product exports will reach 20%, the outlook showed. The ministry expects gas production to fall 5.6% to 720.9 billion cubic meters this year. Pipeline gas exports are seen declining 10% to 185 billion cubic meters, though shipments of liquefied natural gas are forecast to grow 5.5% to 30.7 million tons. NN: As you can see despite the blow and go Sanctions are seeing to it Russians cannot get a branded Big Mac and little Else. On the plus  side Russian oil revenue will increase by 25% this year…

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Goldman Sachs CEO sees a ‘30% chance of recession’ within the next 12 to 24 months

“‘Probably a 30% chance of recession as you look forward to the next 12 to 24 months.’” That was Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO David Solomon talking about the current state of the U.S economy during a couple of recent interviews. Solomon, who has been the chief executive officer at Goldman Sachs since 2018, made the prediction in a telephone interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. He expanded on it during a CNBC interview on Wednesday. “You have to think about the fact that there’s a reasonable chance at some point that we have a recession or we have, you know, very, very slow, sluggish growth,” Solomon said. But he also cautioned that a recession is far from a sure thing. “That doesn’t mean that that’s definitely going to happen,” he continued. “But certainly, I think that if you’re running a significant enterprise, you have to be looking through a lens with a little bit more caution right now than you might have been when we were sitting here a year ago.” Solomon also noted that the recent “tightening” of economic conditions has been predictable based on inflation data and the interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. This comes after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he is determined to create a “softish landing” for the U.S. economy. “What we need to see is inflation coming down in a clear and convincing way and we’re going to keep pushing until we see that,” said Powell on Tuesday. These comments come as the U.S. markets were down on Wednesday after the brief uptick on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -3.57%  dropped over 1,100 points, or 3.5%, while the S&P 500 SPX, -4.04%   moved 4% lower and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP, -4.73% dropped 4.5%. NN: The end is near! I want to be crystal clear here. Inflation is so entrenched that even Fed Funds at 10% will not put out this fire. 20 years of free money have created enormous bubbles. A recession will not put out this fire….. It will take a full blown depression. And their is a fortune to be made trading the bursting bubbles.

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United States To Release Venezuela From Some Oil Sanctions

Washington will start to relax restrictions placed on U.S.-based oil company Chevron with regards to its crude business in sanctioned Venezuela. Chevron will soon be able to negotiate directly with the Venezuelan government and its state-run oil company, PDVSA, with the final details of the new arrangement expected to be complete as early as today. The move is thought to support the talks between Venezuela’s socialist government led by Nicolas Maduro and the Western-backed opposition government led by Juan Guaido, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Washington officials who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity, the license to negotiate, granted to Chevron, could be just the first step towards relaxing other oil-related sanctions on Venezuela.

The opposition government in Venezuela is expected to announce today that it has reached an agreement with Maduro to return to the negotiating table as early as this month. Rumors surfaced shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine that the United States was entertaining the notion of relaxing crude oil sanctions on Venezuela if the Latin American country agreed to export this crude oil to refiners in the United States. As far back as two months ago, Chevron had already begun to assemble a trading team to market oil from Venezuela and professed to be ready to expand its role in the four joint ventures that it shares with PDVSA.

Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world. A relaxing of sanctions could unleash another 400,000 bpd per day at a time when global crude oil consumers are scrambling for less expensive crude. 

The move is telling of how critical the increased supply of crude oil is to the current U.S. administration. NN: Think about how fucked up this is. The US governemnt is hell bent on shutting down US based oil resources. At the same time it courts its enemies to provide oil. Namely Libya, Iran, Venezuela and middle east interests. So they are replacing one dictator  with 3 or 4  others euqualy hostile to democracy and the free enterprise system. Germany tired it and you are seeing how that worked out.