NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Friday / January 14
War fears in Eastern Europe
Poland's foreign minister said on Thursday that Europe was at risk of going to war. Russia, on the other hand, stated that it has not given up on diplomacy yet, but that its military experts are preparing options if the tension over Ukraine is not eased.
The White House said the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine remained high and that the United States would make it public within 24 hours of intelligence that Russia might try to find a pretext to justify it.
"The drumbeat of war is sounding loud, and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill," Michael Carpenter, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said after talks with Russia in Vienna.
"The threat of military invasion is high," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. "There are no dates set for any more talks. We have to consult with allies and partners first."
"At this stage it's really disappointing," Russian Ambassador Alexander Lukashevich told reporters after the OSCE meeting, the third leg of a series of Russian-Western talks this week. Dialogue has reached a stalemate, he said, as Russia tries to ensure that Ukraine does not join NATO and to stem decades of NATO expansion in Europe.
BOJ policy
Bank of Japan (BoJ) policymakers are debating how soon they can begin an eventual rate hike, which they will resort to even before inflation hits the bank's 2% target, with escalating price hikes and the hawkishness of its US counterpart, the Fed.
While a real rate hike isn't imminent, and the BOJ is on track to maintain ultra-accommodative policy for at least the rest of this year, financial markets may be underestimating the bank's preparations to phase out its once-radical stimulus program.
"The BOJ never committed to keep rates on hold until inflation exceeds 2%," a source familiar with the BOJ's thinking said, a view echoed by two more sources. "That means theoretically, it can raise rates before inflation is sustainably above the target."
North Korea warns US
A spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry told state media that North Korea's recent development of a "new type of weapon" is only part of efforts to modernize its national defense capacity, and does not target a specific country or harm the security of neighboring countries.
"The US accusation that North Korea is legitimately exercising its right of self-defense is a clear provocation and gangster-like logic," the statement said.
North Korea has warned of a "stronger and more decisive response" if the US "takes a confrontational stance".
US President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on North Korea's weapons programs after North Korea launched two missiles since last week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US has made it clear that it has no hostile intentions towards North Korea and is willing to participate in negotiations without preconditions, but that the tests are "highly destabilizing".
Chinese spies in London
The UK's domestic intelligence service, MI5, has warned that the Chinese Communist Party is employing at least one person in Parliament to exert influence over British MPs.
MI5 sent a warning and a picture to MPs on Thursday claiming that a woman named Christine Lee was "involved in political interference activities" in the UK on behalf of the CCP.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who circulated MI5's alert to lawmakers, said MI5 had found that Lee "has facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China".
Priti Patel, the UK's home secretary, told reporters that Lee's behavior is currently below the crime threshold to prosecute her, but said the government was able to issue the warning and warn lawmakers of Lee's attempts to improperly influence them.
Patel said it was "deeply worrying" that someone working for the CCP was targeting lawmakers.
Rocket attack in Baghdad
A rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad resulted in injuries to a child and a woman, the Iraqi military said in a statement. The statement did not elaborate on the details of the attack, but stated that one of the two rockets fell on a school near the embassy.
Iraqi military officials also said that two to three Katyusha rockets were fired at the embassy in the attack, and at least two were hit by the embassy's rocket defense system.
US stocks
U.S. stocks slumped on Thursday as tech stocks slumped amid aggressive rate hike comments from central bank Fed officials.
The S&P500 fell 1.42% to 4,659.03, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.51% to 14,806.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 176.70 points to close at 36,113.62 after rising more than 200 points earlier in the day.
Losses in major tech stocks saw Amazon drop 2.4% and Microsoft 4.2%, weighing on the Nasdaq. Shares of Snap fell roughly 10%, while the space exploration firm Virgin Galactic tumbled nearly 19% after announcing a debt offer. Electric vehicle maker Tesla tumbled more than 6%.
Poland's foreign minister said on Thursday that Europe was at risk of going to war. Russia, on the other hand, stated that it has not given up on diplomacy yet, but that its military experts are preparing options if the tension over Ukraine is not eased.
The White House said the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine remained high and that the United States would make it public within 24 hours of intelligence that Russia might try to find a pretext to justify it.
"The drumbeat of war is sounding loud, and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill," Michael Carpenter, U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said after talks with Russia in Vienna.
"The threat of military invasion is high," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters. "There are no dates set for any more talks. We have to consult with allies and partners first."
"At this stage it's really disappointing," Russian Ambassador Alexander Lukashevich told reporters after the OSCE meeting, the third leg of a series of Russian-Western talks this week. Dialogue has reached a stalemate, he said, as Russia tries to ensure that Ukraine does not join NATO and to stem decades of NATO expansion in Europe.
BOJ policy
Bank of Japan (BoJ) policymakers are debating how soon they can begin an eventual rate hike, which they will resort to even before inflation hits the bank's 2% target, with escalating price hikes and the hawkishness of its US counterpart, the Fed.
While a real rate hike isn't imminent, and the BOJ is on track to maintain ultra-accommodative policy for at least the rest of this year, financial markets may be underestimating the bank's preparations to phase out its once-radical stimulus program.
"The BOJ never committed to keep rates on hold until inflation exceeds 2%," a source familiar with the BOJ's thinking said, a view echoed by two more sources. "That means theoretically, it can raise rates before inflation is sustainably above the target."
North Korea warns US
A spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry told state media that North Korea's recent development of a "new type of weapon" is only part of efforts to modernize its national defense capacity, and does not target a specific country or harm the security of neighboring countries.
"The US accusation that North Korea is legitimately exercising its right of self-defense is a clear provocation and gangster-like logic," the statement said.
North Korea has warned of a "stronger and more decisive response" if the US "takes a confrontational stance".
US President Joe Biden's administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on North Korea's weapons programs after North Korea launched two missiles since last week.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US has made it clear that it has no hostile intentions towards North Korea and is willing to participate in negotiations without preconditions, but that the tests are "highly destabilizing".
Chinese spies in London
The UK's domestic intelligence service, MI5, has warned that the Chinese Communist Party is employing at least one person in Parliament to exert influence over British MPs.
MI5 sent a warning and a picture to MPs on Thursday claiming that a woman named Christine Lee was "involved in political interference activities" in the UK on behalf of the CCP.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who circulated MI5's alert to lawmakers, said MI5 had found that Lee "has facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China".
Priti Patel, the UK's home secretary, told reporters that Lee's behavior is currently below the crime threshold to prosecute her, but said the government was able to issue the warning and warn lawmakers of Lee's attempts to improperly influence them.
Patel said it was "deeply worrying" that someone working for the CCP was targeting lawmakers.
Rocket attack in Baghdad
A rocket attack on the US embassy in Baghdad resulted in injuries to a child and a woman, the Iraqi military said in a statement. The statement did not elaborate on the details of the attack, but stated that one of the two rockets fell on a school near the embassy.
Iraqi military officials also said that two to three Katyusha rockets were fired at the embassy in the attack, and at least two were hit by the embassy's rocket defense system.
US stocks
U.S. stocks slumped on Thursday as tech stocks slumped amid aggressive rate hike comments from central bank Fed officials.
The S&P500 fell 1.42% to 4,659.03, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.51% to 14,806.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 176.70 points to close at 36,113.62 after rising more than 200 points earlier in the day.
Losses in major tech stocks saw Amazon drop 2.4% and Microsoft 4.2%, weighing on the Nasdaq. Shares of Snap fell roughly 10%, while the space exploration firm Virgin Galactic tumbled nearly 19% after announcing a debt offer. Electric vehicle maker Tesla tumbled more than 6%.
