NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Tuesday / March 29
Ukraine-Russia talks
Ukraine and Russia prepared on Monday for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks as the war went on in Kyiv suburbs and in the south.
Ukraine's foreign minister said a ceasefire was the most his country could hope for from the talks, due to be held in Istanbul on Tuesday after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
"We are not trading people, land or sovereignty," Dmytro Kuleba said.
Russia's military signalled last week it would concentrate on expanding territory held by separatists in eastern Ukraine, but Ukraine said it saw no sign Russia had given up a plan to surround the capital, which it targeted in its Feb. 24 invasion.
Ukrainian officials had suggested Russia could be more willing to compromise having seen stiff Ukrainian resistance and heavy Russian losses. But a senior US State Department official told Reuters Putin did not give that impression.
G7 energy statement
Energy ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations reject demands by President Vladimir Putin that "unfriendly" countries pay for Russian gas with roubles, Germany's Robert Habeck said after talks with his counterparts on Monday.
"All G7 ministers have agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of existing contracts," Habeck, who is German economy and climate protection minister, told reporters after a virtual conference with G7 energy ministers.
The ministers "underlined once again that the concluded contracts are valid and the companies should and must respect them ... payment in roubles is unacceptable, and we call on the companies concerned not to comply with Putin's demand," he said.
"Putin's attempt to divide us is obvious, but - as you can see from this great unity and determination - we will not be divided."
Biden's budget proposal
US President Joe Biden on Monday submitted a $5.79 trillion budget plan to Congress that calls for record peacetime military spending and further aid for Ukraine, while raising taxes for billionaires and companies and lowering government deficits.
Biden's budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, lays out his administration's priorities, including campaign promises to make the wealthy and companies pay more tax.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress looked forward to working on Biden's "bold fiscal blueprint." Republicans and moderate Democrats killed similar tax proposals in the 2022 budget.
The plan was based on economic assumptions from November, well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has exacerbated previous inflationary pressures on energy and food prices.
US stocks
The S&P 500 rose on Monday, as investors shook off recession concerns and bid tech shares higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.65 points to 34,955.89. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 4,575.52. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite added 1.3% to 14,354,90, thanks to a 8% jump in Tesla. The S&P 500 hit its high of the session as crude oil hit its low of the day, down more than 11%.
Oil prices fell on Monday following their recent surge due to the geopolitical conflict. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid about 7% to settle at $105.96. Brent crude futures settled nearly 7% lower at $112.48 per barrel.
Ukraine and Russia prepared on Monday for the first face-to-face peace talks in more than two weeks as the war went on in Kyiv suburbs and in the south.
Ukraine's foreign minister said a ceasefire was the most his country could hope for from the talks, due to be held in Istanbul on Tuesday after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Russia's Vladimir Putin on Sunday.
"We are not trading people, land or sovereignty," Dmytro Kuleba said.
Russia's military signalled last week it would concentrate on expanding territory held by separatists in eastern Ukraine, but Ukraine said it saw no sign Russia had given up a plan to surround the capital, which it targeted in its Feb. 24 invasion.
Ukrainian officials had suggested Russia could be more willing to compromise having seen stiff Ukrainian resistance and heavy Russian losses. But a senior US State Department official told Reuters Putin did not give that impression.
G7 energy statement
Energy ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations reject demands by President Vladimir Putin that "unfriendly" countries pay for Russian gas with roubles, Germany's Robert Habeck said after talks with his counterparts on Monday.
"All G7 ministers have agreed that this is a unilateral and clear breach of existing contracts," Habeck, who is German economy and climate protection minister, told reporters after a virtual conference with G7 energy ministers.
The ministers "underlined once again that the concluded contracts are valid and the companies should and must respect them ... payment in roubles is unacceptable, and we call on the companies concerned not to comply with Putin's demand," he said.
"Putin's attempt to divide us is obvious, but - as you can see from this great unity and determination - we will not be divided."
Biden's budget proposal
US President Joe Biden on Monday submitted a $5.79 trillion budget plan to Congress that calls for record peacetime military spending and further aid for Ukraine, while raising taxes for billionaires and companies and lowering government deficits.
Biden's budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, lays out his administration's priorities, including campaign promises to make the wealthy and companies pay more tax.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress looked forward to working on Biden's "bold fiscal blueprint." Republicans and moderate Democrats killed similar tax proposals in the 2022 budget.
The plan was based on economic assumptions from November, well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has exacerbated previous inflationary pressures on energy and food prices.
US stocks
The S&P 500 rose on Monday, as investors shook off recession concerns and bid tech shares higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94.65 points to 34,955.89. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 4,575.52. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite added 1.3% to 14,354,90, thanks to a 8% jump in Tesla. The S&P 500 hit its high of the session as crude oil hit its low of the day, down more than 11%.
Oil prices fell on Monday following their recent surge due to the geopolitical conflict. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid about 7% to settle at $105.96. Brent crude futures settled nearly 7% lower at $112.48 per barrel.
