NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Friday / February 18
Ukraine tension build up
Bombardments in eastern Ukraine, US President Joe Biden's statement that Moscow was preparing an excuse to justify a possible attack, and the Kremlin's expulsion of an American diplomat revived the West's fears of a potential Russian invasion.
The sounds of fire in the early morning between the Kiev forces and the pro-Russian separatists, who have been at war for years, caused alarm as Western countries said that an operation could come at any time.
As Russia demands security guarantees, including Kiev never joining NATO, while the United States and its allies offer arms control and confidence-building measures, Europe is experiencing one of the deepest crises in post-Cold War relations.
Russia accuses the West of hysteria, saying that some of its troops have returned to their bases and that there is no invasion plan. Many Western countries remain adamant that the military build-up continues before a possible attack.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about possible Russian scenarios at the United Nations Security Council meeting. Russia described Biden and Blinken's remarks as provocation.
The military alliances of Washington and Berlin provided reinforcements for countries on NATO's eastern flank.
Negotiations with Iran
Envoys from Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and the United States continued their negotiations on Tehran's nuclear weapons program in Vienna.
Warnings from the West that time is running out before the original 2015 nuclear deal expires, diplomats still negotiate the details of the draft deal. Delegates say most of the text has been resolved, but some thorny issues remain.
The broad goal of the negotiations is the lifting of sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities.
The draft text of the agreement, which is more than 20 pages long, includes Iran suspending enrichment above 5% purity after ratification by the rest of the agreement.
The text also includes the diplomats' release of nearly $7 billion in Iranian funds held in South Korean banks under US sanctions, and the release of Western prisoners held in Iran.
US stocks
Stocks fell on Wall Street on Thursday as escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine spurred worried investors to abandon risky assets and turn their attention to bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its worst daily performance of the year in points and percentages.
The blue-chip average Dow fell steadily throughout the trading day to 34,312.03, losing about 622.24 points, or 1.8%. The S&P 500 fell 2.1% to 4,380.26 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.9% to 13,716.72.
Market participants turned to safe-haven assets. Gold futures rose more than 1%, with the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield falling below 2% as bond prices rose.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman James Bullard warned on Thursday that inflation could become a more serious problem without central bank action on interest rates.
The U.S. Department of Labor said jobless claims applications rose 23,000 in the week ended Feb. 12, beating expectations in seasonally adjusted terms to 248,000.
Bombardments in eastern Ukraine, US President Joe Biden's statement that Moscow was preparing an excuse to justify a possible attack, and the Kremlin's expulsion of an American diplomat revived the West's fears of a potential Russian invasion.
The sounds of fire in the early morning between the Kiev forces and the pro-Russian separatists, who have been at war for years, caused alarm as Western countries said that an operation could come at any time.
As Russia demands security guarantees, including Kiev never joining NATO, while the United States and its allies offer arms control and confidence-building measures, Europe is experiencing one of the deepest crises in post-Cold War relations.
Russia accuses the West of hysteria, saying that some of its troops have returned to their bases and that there is no invasion plan. Many Western countries remain adamant that the military build-up continues before a possible attack.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke about possible Russian scenarios at the United Nations Security Council meeting. Russia described Biden and Blinken's remarks as provocation.
The military alliances of Washington and Berlin provided reinforcements for countries on NATO's eastern flank.
Negotiations with Iran
Envoys from Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and the United States continued their negotiations on Tehran's nuclear weapons program in Vienna.
Warnings from the West that time is running out before the original 2015 nuclear deal expires, diplomats still negotiate the details of the draft deal. Delegates say most of the text has been resolved, but some thorny issues remain.
The broad goal of the negotiations is the lifting of sanctions against Iran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities.
The draft text of the agreement, which is more than 20 pages long, includes Iran suspending enrichment above 5% purity after ratification by the rest of the agreement.
The text also includes the diplomats' release of nearly $7 billion in Iranian funds held in South Korean banks under US sanctions, and the release of Western prisoners held in Iran.
US stocks
Stocks fell on Wall Street on Thursday as escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine spurred worried investors to abandon risky assets and turn their attention to bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its worst daily performance of the year in points and percentages.
The blue-chip average Dow fell steadily throughout the trading day to 34,312.03, losing about 622.24 points, or 1.8%. The S&P 500 fell 2.1% to 4,380.26 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.9% to 13,716.72.
Market participants turned to safe-haven assets. Gold futures rose more than 1%, with the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield falling below 2% as bond prices rose.
St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman James Bullard warned on Thursday that inflation could become a more serious problem without central bank action on interest rates.
The U.S. Department of Labor said jobless claims applications rose 23,000 in the week ended Feb. 12, beating expectations in seasonally adjusted terms to 248,000.
