Tag Archives: Geopolitics

AK-47s become hot commodity after U.S. sanctions

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“Here’s a surprising effect of the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia: a run on AK-47s.  Among the companies sanctioned this week was Kalashnikov Concern, the maker of the gun. The Obama administration issued sanctions against Russian companies in response to Russia’s role in a separatist movement in Ukraine. According to the Treasury Department, Kalashnikov Concern is banned from importing its guns — including the AK-47 and more advanced AK-74 — into the United States. But, in a statement posted on its Web site, Treasury said Americans are allowed to own, buy and sell the guns, so long as they were already in the U.S. prior to the sanctions.”

http://money.cnn.com/2014/07/18/news/companies/ak-47-kalashnikov/

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London Seeks New Spenders as Russians Skip $719 Champagne

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“With violence continuing in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin pushing to reduce reliance on the West, wealthy Russians are buying fewer high-end goods from furs to Ferraris, and doing less business with the city’s law firms and investment banks. That leaves London, uniquely connected to faraway, fast-growing economies, looking for new patrons, with China and sub-Saharan African countries pitched as possible successors.  Takeovers involving Russian companies, often handled by the London offices of global banks, tumbled 39 percent in the first half of 2014 to $16.6 billion, Bloomberg data show. Russian firms are having a tougher time raising money too.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-10/london-seeks-new-spenders-as-russians-skip-719-champagne.html

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Russia writes off 90% of Cuba’s debt ahead of Putin L. America tour

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“Russia has written down $32 billion of Cuba’s Soviet era debt. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the law ahead of his official visit to Latin America, with Havana as his first stop.  The agreement was first signed in October 2013 and draws a line under a twenty-year dispute.  Cash-strapped Cuba has been feverishly trying to restructure its debt to jump start its economy and attract investment. Three years ago it restructured $6 billion it owes to China, and in 2012 Japan forgave about $1.4 billion.  Mexico recently forgave $478 million of Cuban debt.  Cuba remains a strong ally of Russia, with trade between the two countries at about $200 million last year.”

http://rt.com/business/172020-russia-cuba-debt-writeoff/

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Kurds seize Iraq oilfields, ministers pull out of central government

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“The moves escalated a feud between the Shi’ite-led central government and the autonomous Kurdish region driven by a Sunni insurgency which threatens to fragment Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines.  An oil ministry spokesman in Baghdad described the takeover as dangerous and irresponsible and called for the Kurdish forces to withdraw immediately.  Regional Kurdish President Massoud Barzani told his parliament in Arbil last week to prepare a referendum on independence, infuriating Maliki.  Maliki accused the Kurds of allowing their capital to be used as a base for the Islamic State and others, including former members of Saddam Hussein’s now-banned Baath Party.”

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/07/11/uk-iraq-security-idUKKBN0FF20Q20140711

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The Silence of American Hawks About Kiev’s Atrocities

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“For weeks, the US-backed regime in Kiev has been committing atrocities against its own citizens in southeastern Ukraine, regions heavily populated by Russian-speaking Ukrainians and ethnic Russians. While victimizing a growing number of innocent people, including children, and degrading America’s reputation, these military assaults on cities, captured on video, are generating pressure in Russia on President Vladimir Putin to ‘save our compatriots.’  The reaction of the Obama administration—as well as the new cold-war hawks in Congress and in the establishment media—has been twofold: silence interrupted only by occasional statements excusing and thus encouraging more atrocities by Kiev.”

http://www.thenation.com/article/180466/silence-american-hawks-about-kievs-atrocities?page=full

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Companies ‘work around’ U.S. oil export ban

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“Companies and federal officials are finding a way around a 1970s-era U.S. ban on crude oil exports by slightly processing some of the rising amounts of oil extracted from the nation’s shale deposits.  Texas-based Pioneer Natural Resources said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Commerce has approved its plan to export an ultralight oil known as condensate produced in the state’s Eagle Ford Shale.  The U.S. government, since the 1970s Arab oil embargo, has largely banned the export of crude oil — except to Canada — as a way to keep the nation’s oil at home and protect American consumers from price shocks.”

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/06/25/companies-work-around-crude-oil-export-ban/11349287/

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Oil wars exploding; Gold surging

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“Not only do we have new, dangerous wars exploding — or about to explode — in Ukraine, the Middle East and East Asia … Not only are those wars threatening to spread globally … But we are also beginning to see their impact on global markets.  Just connect the dots: Wars drive oil and gas prices skyward … Surging energy costs drive up inflation, threatening to gut the purchasing power of paper currencies … Scared money flees the regions threatened by wars and revolutions, and … Hundreds of billions of dollars rush into gold.  It’s classic. It’s a proven pattern we’ve seen for centuries. And it’s happening now!”

http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/oil-wars-exploding-gold-surging-62472

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Is War Part of a Wall Street Party?

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“The consistent raising of nuclear tensions justifies continued economic reactions in order to keep Western economies stable and on track, which may include further justifications for continued monetary easing.  International tensions also provide a rationale for a ‘flight to safety’ that reinforces the primacy of Western markets, in particular US bonds and equities. The up and down security posture of the West versus Russia (and China) can create alternatively a depression of ‘animal spirits’ and waves of euphoria that can lift markets. Finally, a fluid period of inter-state animosity can provide justifications for an eventual stock market crash that can usher the next phase of economic internationalism.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/35416/Anthony-Wile-Is-War-Part-of-a-Wall-Street-Party/

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Iraq falling? Now what?

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“They are — or were — Al-Qaeda. In fact, they’re so radically extreme, so vicious, so uncontrollable, even Al-Qaeda itself has cut off all ties.  If this group — the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — were just a typical terrorist organization, operating in small splinter cells, planning random attacks on isolated targets, we’d know how to deal with that as well. But that’s not who they are. They’re an army. They’re sweeping Iraq in a blistering blitzkrieg. They’re snowballing in size, gathering thousands of Iraqi army defectors and militants into their fold. They’re taking over government army bases, arms depots, refineries, power stations, big cities, even entire provinces.”

http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/iraq-falling-now-what-62194

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Obama, In Europe, Announces $1 Billion European Defense Plan

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“The $1 billion security plan [is] intended to demonstrate the United States’ ‘rock-solid commitment’ to stand with Central and Eastern Europe against Russian aggression, but it did not settle nerves rattled by the crisis in neighboring Ukraine.  Arriving here for the start of a four-day swing through Europe certain to be dominated by the continuing tension with Moscow, Mr. Obama announced a program to expand military training, joint exercises and troop rotations while prepositioning equipment in the region to bolster defenses for American allies.  The president’s main goal here in Warsaw was to reassure NATO allies that once were in the Soviet orbit that they could count on American support.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/world/europe/obama-in-europe.html?hp&_r=1

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