Author: BlackMask Financial

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US nonfarm payrolls up by 467,000 in January

U.S. employers added back far more jobs than expected in January even as Omicron cases surged at the beginning of the new year. The Labor Department released its January jobs report Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

  • Non-farm payrolls: +467,000 vs. +125,000 expected and a revised +510,000 in December
  • Unemployment rate: 4.0% vs. 3.9% expected, 3.9% in December
  • Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: 0.7% vs. 0.5% expected and a revised 0.5% in December
  • Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: 5.7% vs. 5.2% expected, 4.7% in December

The January jobs report marks the first to reflect a fuller impact from the Omicron variant. The highly contagious variant first discovered in the U.S. in late November had only just begun to spread by the time of the December jobs report survey period. Around the time of the January survey period in the middle of the month, new daily COVID-19 cases in the U.S. had soared to a record.  Still, job growth held up much more robustly than expected at the start of the year. Plus, payrolls gains for December were sharply upwardly revised, further pointing to momentum in the labor market heading into the new year. Non-farm payrolls grew by 510,000 in December, the Labor Department said in its revision on Friday, or well above the 199,000 previously reported last month. And the renewed jump in COVID-19 cases was expected to weigh especially heavily on the high-contact services sector, which has remained exceptionally vulnerable to rising infections levels. Yet job growth in leisure and hospitality industries remained positive for January, with payrolls rising by 151,000 compared to the 163,000 brought back in December. Retail trade payrolls accelerated to see a rise of more than 60,000 jobs in January from the 40,100 in December. The latest jobs report would serve as an imperfect indicator of the underlying strength in the labor market due to Omicron-related disruptions. The Labor Department counts individuals paid during the survey period, or the week including the 12th of the month, as employed for the headline payrolls figure. Those on unpaid leave due to illness or otherwise, however, are excluded from the headline payrolls count. “The 467,000 gain in non-farm payrolls in January is even stronger than it looks, as it came despite the spike in absenteeism driven by the Omicron virus wave and was accompanied by significant upward revisions to the gains over the preceding couple of months,” Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics, said in a note on Friday. “The headline gain appears to make a mockery of our fears that Omicron would weigh heavily on the payrolls figures, with leisure and hospitality employment rising by a solid 151,000. Despite millions of workers having to self-isolate, there were also strong gains in professional and business services, retail and transportation and warehousing.” Other metrics in the latest jobs report also held up as strongly or more strongly than expected. Though the unemployment rate edged up to 4.0%, it remained only slightly above the pandemic-era low of 3.9% from December, which had been the lowest since February 2020. And the labor force participation rate unexpectedly improved to 62.2%, or the greatest level since March 2020, in a sign that more individuals were returning to the workforce from the sidelines. Average hourly wages jumped more than expected in January. On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings rose by 5.7%, or a full percentage point faster than December’s gain. This marked the biggest jump since May 2020. On a month-over-month basis, average hourly earnings rose 0.7%, coming in above the 0.5% rise anticipated for the month. For investors, the latest jobs report also serves as another datapoint suggesting whether the economy has maintained enough momentum to warrant less support from monetary policymakers. Withinflation running at the fastest rate in four decades and the unemployment rate hovering near pre-pandemic levels, the latest jobs report is unlikely to knock the Federal Reserve from its current, more hawkish direction. “The labor market has made remarkable progress and by many measures is very strong,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a press conference on Jan. 26. Though he acknowledged the current wave of the virus may weigh on labor force participation in the near-term, he added that, “Over time there are good reasons to expect some further improvements in participation and employment.” Fed officials have so far signaled that they are likely to begin raising interest rates at the close of their March policy-setting meeting, with a number of additional rate hikes to come over the balance of the year. They have also signaled they would eventually begin quantitative tightening, rolling off the nearly $9 trillion in assets currently on the central bank’s balance sheet. “The case for near-term tightening has just been further reinforced and, inevitably, there will be speculation around a potential 50bps move in March,” Seema Shah, chief strategist of Principal Global Investors, wrote in a note. “Yet, investors should really find comfort in the report. The economy is still hot and is strong enough to digest the policy tightening this year.” NN: This report is the last unemployment data the FED will get before their version of March madness at the next FOMC meeting. They receive this report as an economy that is still red hot. Meaning we will get a 50 bases point increase. This also confirms my belief they will get a nice rally going we can short into..

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Analysis-OPEC+ meets quickly, sticks to script, dodges debate on geopolitics

LONDON (Reuters) – After a month in which oil prices surged 15% and geopolitical tensions seethed around the world, OPEC and its allies took a record-quick 16 minutes to decide that they would stick to their previously planned output increase. Apparently, there were no lengthy discussions at Wednesday’s meeting about member nations of the producer group failing to hit their production targets or about one of the busiest months on the geopolitical front in years, featuring: a potential war between Russia and Ukraine; rare unrest in Kazakhstan; hints of progress in nuclear talks progress between the United States and Iran; and repeated Houthi drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates. They instead chose to complete their regular monthly meeting in record time, avoiding any thorny discussions. OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia, agreed to a small increase for March, raising the collective oil production target by 400,000 barrels per day (bpd). Brent crude prices hit a seven-year high of $91.70 a barrel on Jan 28 and are currently trading at about $90.

Several OPEC+ delegates said the latest leg of oil’s rally was a result of concern over the potential for supply disruption due to conflict rather than an issue with undersupply.

“Prices are high not because of market fundamentals but because of geopolitics,” one delegate said. The source said, however, that geopolitical tensions were not discussed. “Nothing political (was) raised,” he said. The group has been making the same monthly adjustment to targets since August as it sl owly unwinds record cuts made at the height of the pandemic, when fuel demand slumped worldwide. OPEC+ has fallen well short of meeting the rising target, and is trailing the recovery in fuel demand, because several members failed to make needed investments to maintain oilfields during the pandemic. As well as the international crisis over Ukraine, tension this month also arose on the Arabian Peninsula where Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched drones and missiles to attack the United Arab Emirates in an escalation of a conflict with a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. “A geopolitical premium is baked into prices with the Russia-Ukraine standoff continuing and trigger-happy Houthi rebels in Yemen,” PVM analyst Stephen Brennock said. Asked about the main driver behind the decision, another OPEC+ delegate said, “This decision … suits everyone, both those who have the capacity to increase their supply and those who cannot”. “With this decision, we maintain the cohesion of the group and we leave the difficult discussions for later,” he added, referring to dwindling capacity among some members. OPEC+ data shows that in 2021 the group produced on average over 800,000 bpd below its production targets as some – mainly Western African – producers struggled with underinvestment. The group’s lack of spare capacity — idled oilfields ready to come online quickly to deal with unexpected outages in global supply — along with a post-pandemic demand recovery, has put a charge into energy prices and driven global inflation higher. Just a few producers hold most of that global spare capacity: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. Several analysts, including Goldman Sachs, argue that the very thin spare capacity could push oil prices over the $100 mark later this year. U.S. sanctions are also keeping millions of barrels of production offline in Iran and Venezuela. The quick decision gives the group more time to wait for the direction of the Iran nuclear talks with the West which would pave the way for the lifting sanctions on oil exports from the OPEC member. Indirect talks between the United States and Iran are entering the “final stretch,” with all sides having to make tough political decisions, a senior U.S. State Department official said this week. Meanwhile Iranian oil minister Javad Owji was quoted as saying Tehran was ready to return to the oil market quickly, which could boost supply by an additional 1.5 million bpd. This month, China’s customs reported the first import of Iranian crude in a year despite ongoing sanctions, offloading nearly 4 million barrels of Iranian crude oil into state reserve tanks. “The White House has already seemingly dispensed with the maximum pressure sanctions enforcement policy, and more Iranian(and Venezuelan) barrels are making their way to China,” RBC Capital’s Helima Croft said. Any nuclear deal with Iran will most likely force OPEC+ to rearrange its production quotas to make room for Iranian barrels as in previous years. Extra Iranian supply, however, could help plug the hole in OPEC+’s output target misses, one of the sources said. NN: Do not let them shit you… within 6 months the market will be grossly over supplied… Their is a great short setting up here.

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Oil extends gains above $90/bbl as winter storm sweeps through United States and Ukraine prepares to be invaded

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil prices climbed on Friday, extending sharp gains in the previous session as frigid weather swept across large swathes of the United States, threatening to further disrupt oil supplies. Brent crude rose 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $91.53 a barrel by 0745 GMT, after rising $1.16 on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 52 cents, or 0.6%, to $90.79 a barrel, having gained $2.01 the previous day to settle above $90 for the first time since Oct. 6, 2014. “WTI crude surged over the $90 level after an Arctic blast made its way to Texas and disrupted some oil production in the Permian Basin,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. A massive winter storm swept across the central and Northeast United States on Thursday where it was delivering heavy snow and ice, making travel treacherous if not impossible, knocking out power to thousands and closing schools in several states. Tight oil supplies pushed the six-month market structure for WTI into steep backwardation of $8.08 a barrel on Friday, 7 cents shy of an eight-year high of $8.15 on Nov. 29. Backwardation occurs when prices for prompt spot trade are at a premium to future prices, and usually encourages traders to take oil out of storage. As recovering demand is outpacing supply, oil markets are increasingly vulnerable to supply interruptions, analysts said. “Even as thousands of flights are cancelled, the energy market is fixated over production and not so much short-term demand shocks,” said Moya. Geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have also fuelled oil’s sharp gains which have pushed Brent and WTI futures up by about 18% and 21%, respectively, so far this year. The United States warned that Russia was planning to use a staged attack as justification for invading Ukraine. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has blamed NATO and the West for increased tensions, even as he has moved thousands of troops near to Ukraine’s border. “With geopolitical risk in Ukraine and only gradual increase of production by OPEC+, prices are expected to head toward $100 a barrel,” Chiyoki Chen, chief analyst at Sunward Trading said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed earlier this week to stick to moderate rises of 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in oil output with the group already struggling to meet existing targets and despite pressure from top consumers to raise production more quickly. Over the medium term, however, some analysts expect the oil market to flip into surplus as soon as next quarter, helping put the brakes on the recent surge in prices. “We expect the sequential trend of quarterly global stock draws will flip to inventory builds as soon as 2Q’22, and sustain for the next 15-18 months,” analysts at Citi Research said in a note late on Thursday. “Our view is for a tight crude oil market to shift to surplus outright and in terms of days of demand cover.”

(Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh; editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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BOE Hikes Rates as Four Officials Vote for a Bigger Increase

The Bank of England increased its key interest rate in a bid to contain the fastest inflation in three decades, with some policy makers unexpectedly seeking a more aggressive response to rising prices. The Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise borrowing costs by 25 basis points to 0.5% on Thursday. Four out of the nine-member panel pushed for a 50 basis-point increase, which would have been unprecedented since the central bank gained independence from government in 1997. The move ushered in a new era where the BOE will start to unwind 895 billion pounds ($1.2 trillion) of bond holdings it amassed over the past decade to stimulate the economy. The decision came shortly after Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced a 9 billion-pound program to help consumers shoulder rising energy bills. Costlier fuel helps explain why the BOE worries that inflation could soon peak at more than triple its target. “We have not raised rates today because the economy is roaring away,” Governor Andrew Bailey said at a press briefing in London after the decision on Thursday. “We face the risk that some of the higher imported inflation could become entrained within the domestic economy, leading to a longer period of high inflation.” The pound climbed along with yields on government bonds and shares of U.K. banks. Traders pushed rate-hike bets forward, predicting borrowing costs would hit 1% by May. The U.K. central bank is leading the way in a global tightening of monetary policy, as institutions move to tackle a rapid acceleration of prices in the aftermath of pandemic lockdowns. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to unleash its own rapid tightening cycle this year, and there has been speculation that may include a 50-basis-point hike. “The Bank of England is doing all it can to assert its inflation fighting credentials — delivering its first back-to-back rate hike Thursday since 2004 along wtih plans to unwind its balance sheet. That urgency, combined with a split vote and a signal of further moves in coming months suggests hikes are now likely in March and May, with a risk of a further move in August. But the dovish forecasts in the medium term suggest market expectations for rates to hit 1.5% by year end still look wide of the mark.” “The BOE is the first major central bank embarking on the inflation fighting experiment in the environment of slowing growth momentum and continued dislocations in the energy markets,” said Anna Stupnytska, global macro economist at Fidelity International. The BOE will immediately stop reinvesting the proceeds of expired gilts, allowing more than 200 billion pounds to run off by 2025. It announced plans to offload the entire 20 billion pound stock of corporate bonds by the end of 2023. Stressing its inflation-fighting mandate, the BOE said that “the remit is clear the inflation target applies at all times, reflecting the primacy of price stability in the U.K. monetary policy framework.” Inflation will peak at 7.25% in April under new forecasts from the bank’s officials, more than triple the BOE’s 2% target. It had previously been expected to reach 6%. The labor market also remains tight, with the BOE sharply increased its wage-growth forecase, predicting the underlying pace will hit 4.75% in the coming year. Higher energy prices added further pressure, while cost of living pressures will slow GDP growth. Against that backdrop, four officials — Dave Ramsden, Michael Saunders, Catherine Mann and Jonathan Haskel — voted to boost rates by 50 basis points, seeing the need to act faster to curb inflation expectations. The majority, including Bailey, opted for the 25-basis-point rise. “Given the uncertainties, however, it should be no surprise that the exact size of the response was a close call in the Monetary Policy Committee,” Bailey said. All members of the MPC said further modest tightening would be needed in coming months, and the decision to end gilt repurchases was unanimous. The increase marks the first back-to-back hike since 2004. Markets have priced in steeper hikes since the forecast window was closed, and are close to pricing in a level of 1.5% by the end of this year. That would imply the biggest tightening of policy for any calendar year since 1997.

The BOE also said it would immediately halt the process of reinvesting the proceeds from expired bonds held under its QE program, the first step in reducing its balance sheet.

That will start in March, when 28 billion pounds of gilts mature. The bank reiterated it will start considering accelerating the process by pursuing active sales once rates hit at least 1%. The bank will halt reinvestments of its 20 billion-pound corporate bond plan, and design a program for outright sales. That will unwind the entire stock toward the end of 2023 at the earliest. NN: Every time oil prices do a moon shoot the world goes into inflation shock. Central banks then react and raise interest rates. Throwing the world into a recession. This crashes the stock and real estate markets….. DAH!!!

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Meta shares plunge 26% after FB daily user drop

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, forecast slower growth in the first quarter of 2022, citing “headwinds to both impression and price growth” in its ad business, sending the stock into a nosedive. In addition, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s high-stakes gambit to turn Facebook into a “metaverse” company — burning billions of dollars — led to a rare earnings miss for the company in Q4. Facebook average daily active users were flat for the quarter. Meta’s stock dropped more than 23% in after-hours trading. The news also pulled down the shares of Snap (-16%) and Twitter (-8%). In the current quarter, “On the impressions side, we expect continued headwinds from both increased competition for people’s time and a shift of engagement within our apps towards video surfaces like Reels, which monetize at lower rates than Feed and Stories,” the company said in announcing Q4 2021 results. On the ad pricing side, Q1 growth will be hurt by several factors, including greater impact from Apple’s iOS privacy changes and “we anticipate modestly increasing ad targeting and measurement headwinds from platform and regulatory changes,” Meta said. In addition, “we’re hearing from advertisers that macroeconomic challenges like cost inflation and supply-chain disruptions are impacting advertiser budgets.” CFO Dave Wehner told analysts on the Q4 call that the company estimates a roughly $10 billion economic impact in 2022 because of Apple’s iOS changes, which limit Meta’s ability to target and measure ads. For the fourth quarter of 2021, Meta reported ad revenue of $32.64 for its core social apps, including Facebook and Instagram, an increase of 20%. An operating loss of $3.3 billion for Meta’s Reality Labs segment, which encompasses its metaverse businesses, pushed total net income down 9%, to $10.29 billion. It’s the first year-over-year decline for the company’s net income since Q2 2019. Zuckerberg previously said Meta would invest around $10 billion in metaverse projects for 2021. Losses for Reality Labs came in at $10.2 billion for the full year on revenue of $2.27 billion. Overall, Meta’s Q4 revenue of $33.67 billion slightly topped Wall Street expectations of $33.41 billion. The company’s earning per share of $3.67 missed analyst targets of $3.84 for the quarter, per Refinitiv. Ad revenue had been pegged to come in at $32.6 billion. Meanwhile, Facebook daily active users (DAUs) hit an average of 1.929 billion on December 2021, up 5% year-over-year but slightly slower growth than analysts anticipated — but actually a decline of 10 million from Q3. Across Meta’s family of apps, DAUs averaged 2.82 billion for December, up 8% year over year. Zuckerberg last fall outlined the vision for Meta, Facebook’s new corporate name, setting a goal of reaching 1 billion over the next decade with new virtual experiences that are more immersive than today’s social media. The company’s Q4 report, though, shows Meta has a long way to go to turn VR and AR products and services into a viable business. The Q4 earnings report is Meta’s first to break out results for its two segments: Family of Apps (FoA), which includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and other services; and Reality Labs (RL), which includes augmented and virtual reality related consumer hardware, software and content. The company’s name change to Meta came amid a raft of articles critical of Facebook, based on leaked documents dubbed “The Facebook Papers,” which documented how top execs repeatedly ignored or downplayed employee concerns about misinformation and other harmful content. Zuckerberg has denied that the pivot to Meta had anything to do with his company’s PR problems In announcing the Q4 results, the company said Meta’s Class A common stock is expected to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “META” in the first half of 2022. That will replace the current FB ticker symbol, which has been used since the company’s IPO in 2012. Meta ended 2021 with cash and equivalents worth $48 billion. It reported 71,970 employees as of Dec. 31, up 23% year-over-year. NN: The problems of high tech and the FANGS  are they have been grossly overvalued. And the coming bear market and slowing economy will reveal the truth of who has been cooking the books and what funds have been systematically overvaluing the stock market in this greatest Ponzi scheme ever.

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Japan’s Kowa says Ivermectin showed antiviral effect

TOKYO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Japanese trading and pharmaceuticals company Kowa Co Ltd (7807.T) on Monday said that anti-parasite drug ivermectin showed an “antiviral effect” against Omicron and other coronavirus variants in joint non-clinical research. The company, which has been working with Tokyo’s Kitasato University on testing the drug as a potential treatment for COVID-19, did not provide further details. The original Reuters story misstated that ivermectin was “effective” against Omicron in Phase III clinical trials, which are conducted in humans. Clinical trials are ongoing, but promotion of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment has generated controversy NN: I cannot tell you for sure Ivermectin works. I can tell you for sure it does not hurt. As I sit here taking 3 3mg capsules part of my twice a week routine. Because there is no money in a off patent it will takes years before we have “proof” Well I do not have years since mutation after wave of mutation is coming at me over and over again. So I take Ivermectin as a hedge. I am also FULLY vaccinated. wearing my ugly mask (yes I hear laughter) as day after day I hear reports of N95 toilet paper coffee filter mask user get infected. And I isolate, take my booster vitamins  and test. So far only one person on staff has gotten infected and sick Mosh. And he refused to get his vaccine and wore double N95 masks even though he had our ugly masks. And within days of taking Ivermectin the infection cleared and he tested negative… So go figure…

I. Vaccinnate

2. Ivermectin

3. Quarelquinnine

4. Niclosamide

5. Booster Vitamins

Before taking any medicine or supplement consult your medical professional………

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Fed’s Bullard does not think a half-point rate hike ‘really helps us’

(Reuters) – St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard on Tuesday said he favors lifting rates at the U.S. central bank’s meeting in March and likely again in May, but he pushed back against the idea of kicking off the coming tightening cycle with a half-percentage point hike. “I don’t think a 50-basis point hike really helps us right now,” Bullard said in an interview with Reuters carried on Twitter Spaces https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1lPJqmADBNQJb. NN: This is much ado about nothing. Reality is as we reported to you over the past year the Fed let the inflation Genie out of the bottle. And Americas will pay hell as the Fed will throw the economy into a serious recesion/depression. And the bubble stock market will CRASH. And real estate will wipe out another group suckers. The Fed will raise the FED FUND rate to somewhere between 4% to 5% an we will have lots of ZERO fun…. again. Never mind the fucking we will give them as we short the shit out of the bubble stock market. Especially with our new tools.

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COVID patients face risks after hospital

Reuters) – The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has yet to be certified by peer review. COVID-19 patients face risks after hospital discharge People face substantially higher risks of health problems in the months after being discharged from the hospital following a bout of COVID-19, researchers in England found. Comparing 24,673 COVID-19 patients who survived at least a week after hospital discharge and 123,362 similarly aged people in the general population, they found the COVID-19 survivors had twice the risk of hospital admission or death during the next 10 months. Compared with 16,058 patients who had been hospitalized for influenza, the COVID-19 patients were 37% more likely to be readmitted or die due to their initial infection or other lower respiratory tract infection, and 37% more likely to experience cognitive-related admission or death, researchers reported in PLOS Medicine. COVID-19 patients with dementia who survived hospitalization were at particularly high risk for death in the months afterward, according to the report. “Large numbers of people have been hospitalized with COVID-19… and the raised risks of death and readmission… could significantly impact public health and resources,” the researchers wrote. “Risks might be minimized or mitigated by increasing monitoring of patients in the months following hospital discharge, and greater awareness among patients and clinicians of potential problems.” When the SARS-CoV-2 spike breaks into cells via a “gateway” protein on cell surfaces called ACE2, a second cell-surface protein called vimentin facilitates the process, possibly by serving as a bridge between the virus and ACE2, new research suggests. Using sophisticated analytical chemistry techniques, the researchers observed that vimentin attaches itself to the spike protein on the surface of the coronavirus. Based on their findings, they believe it might also attach itself to the ACE2 protein. In test tube experiments, they saw that when both vimentin and ACE2 are present, entry of the virus into the cells that line the blood vessels increases. They also found that depletion of vimentin significantly reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection of human cells, according to a report published in PNAS. Study coauthor Nader Rahimi of Boston University School of Medicine said his team found that a monoclonal antibody developed by Abcam Plc blocked vimentin from binding to the virus, in turn keeping the virus from entering the cells. Vimentin is also found on cells lining the heart, the air sacs of the lungs, and the nose, the researchers noted. “Establishing the full range of the involvement of vimentin in viral entry and infection will require further investigations,” the researchers said in a statement. They said they hope their findings will lead to new antiviral drugs that keep both ACE2 and vimentin from interacting with the coronavirus.  NN: As your librarian I keep coming back to Ivermectin and  other antivirals like Niclosanmide which is over the counter in many places so talk to your heath professional. And of course get fully vaccinated. See the latest research from NCBI  below

Niclosamide PDF Download

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Dow tops 35,000 pts again as Fed policy concerns ease

Following a slightly lower open on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index later jumped over 250 points to cross the 35,000-point mark for the first time since January 20. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, explaining earlier remarks he had made, said that the United States Federal Reserve would not prefer increasing the key United States interest rate by 50 basis points at its next meeting in March, seemingly causing market fears about potentially intense monetary tightening policy to diminish. The Dow Jones was up 0.77% or 266 points at 2:32 pm ET. The Nasdaq 100 gained 2.55% and the S&P 500 rose by 1.43% at the same time . NN: Lets give them time to rev their engines AND then we will very very soon begin shorting operations.….

 

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France to send troops to Romania amid Ukraine crisis

France has announced plans to send hundreds of troops to Romania a day after the United States said it would soon move a small number of U.S. troops to Eastern European and NATO countries as fears continue to mount that a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine’s borders could be a prelude to an invasion. French Defense Minister Florence Parly said on January 29 that Paris plans to send “several hundred men” to Romania as part of a “defensive alliance.” She also said she had visited Romania on January 27 to discuss the issue. Speaking with France Inter radio, Parly described Romania as a “high tension zone” that had to be “reassured.” Romania shares a border with Ukraine as well as Moldova, where Russia has troops in the breakaway region of Transdniester. U.S. President Joe Biden said on January 28 that he would move U.S. troops to Eastern Europe and the NATO countries “in the near term.” He did not specify where the troops would be sent from or which country they would be sent to. The United States already has tens of thousands of troops stationed across Western Europe. The Pentagon earlier this week placed about 8,500 U.S. troops on standby for possible deployment to Europe amid Moscow’s military buildup, which has moved more than 100,000 Russian troops to regions north, east, and south of Ukraine’s borders. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said earlier that Russian President Vladimir Putin has all the military capabilities ready to act against Ukraine and it now comes down to a political decision on what action Moscow will take. “While we don’t believe that President Putin has made a final decision to use these forces against Ukraine, he clearly now has that capability,” Austin told reporters.

He said there are multiple options available, “including the seizure of cities and significant territories, but also coercive acts and provocative political acts like the recognition of breakaway territories.”

Western leaders have scrambled to defuse the crisis caused by the Russian troop buildup by holding talks with Russian diplomats, while trying to put pressure on Putin by vowing unprecedented sanctions should Russia invade. An ongoing diplomatic effort is set to continue in the coming weeks. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on January 29 that he and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock would visit Ukraine on February 7-8. He said he had reassured Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba “of our full backing and solidarity with Ukraine.” Kuleba issued a call for the West to remain “vigilant and firm in contacts with the Russian side” in his conversation with Le Drian. Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone for more than an hour on January 28 and agreed on the need for de-escalation. According to a Macron aide quoted by the AFP news agency, Putin told Macron that he had “no offensive plans.” U.S. Ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan said on January 28 that Washington was awaiting Russia’s response to its written proposals for a diplomatic path out of the Ukraine crisis, voicing hope that a meeting between American and Russian diplomats could then follow. The Kremlin has said Russia would study the written responses submitted by the United States and NATO concerning Moscow’s demands on security guarantees and will then “decide on further actions.”

Russia is demanding a major restructuring of Europe’s security architecture in exchange for a de-escalation of the crisis over Ukraine.

The United States and NATO have largely rejected the demands, including the call to permanently shut the door on membership for Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. NN: Putin is playing a strng hand. Against weal opponents who are squabbling among themselves. US send anti tank weapons and Germany send helmets. Great way to negotiate!!