NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Wednesday / June 1
Russian advance in Ukraine
Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russia had taken control of most of the eastern industrial city of Sievierodonetsk.
Russia's all-out assault on the city in Ukraine's Luhansk province has been met by tough resistance from Ukrainian forces.
Luhansk's regional governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said nearly all critical infrastructure in Sievierodonetsk had been destroyed and 60% of residential property damaged beyond repair.
"Most of Sievierodonetsk is under the control of the Russians. The town is not surrounded and the prerequisites for it to be are not in place," Gaidai said.
Biden to send rocket systems
US President Joe Biden and his team are still considering the sending of longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine but do not want them used to launch attacks inside Russian territory, the White House said on Tuesday.
US officials said Biden and his national security aides are in the final stages of preparing a new weapons package for Ukraine with an announcement expected soon, possibly as early as Wednesday.
Ukrainian officials have been asking allies for longer-range systems including the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS, that can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away, in the hopes of turning the tide in the three-month-long war.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this system is under consideration.
Russian widens gas cuts
Russia widened its gas cuts to Europe on Tuesday with Gazprom saying it will turn off supplies to several "unfriendly" countries which have refused to accept Moscow's roubles-for-gas payment scheme.
The move by the Russian gas giant is the latest retaliation to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow following its February 24-invasion of Ukraine, escalating its economic battle with Brussels and pushing up European gas prices.
Gazprom said on Tuesday it had fully cut off gas supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra.
It later said it would also stop as of June 1 gas flows to Denmark's Orsted and to Shell Energy for its contract on gas supplies to Germany, after both failed to make payments in roubles.
The announcements follow Monday's agreement by European Union leaders to cut the European Union's imports of Russian oil by 90% by year-end, the bloc's toughest yet response to the invasion.
Yellen's inflation comments
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she was wrong in the past about the path inflation would take, but said easing price hikes is President Joe Biden's top priority and he supports the Federal Reserve's actions to achieve that.
Asked in a CNN interview whether she was wrong to downplay the threat that inflation posed in public statements over the past year, Yellen said: "I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take."
"As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that I didn't at the time fully understand," Yellen said. Adding that the shocks range from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to recent COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
"So really, the shocks to the economy have continued, but inflation is the number one concern for President Biden," Yellen said. Biden "believes strongly and is supportive of the independence of the Fed to take the steps that are necessary" to reduce inflation, Yellen added.
"We can't rule out further shocks," Yellen said.
Biden met earlier on Tuesday with Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Yellen.
US stocks
US stocks fell Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 222.84 points, or 0.7%, to close at 32,990.12. The S&P 500 dipped 0.6% to 4,132.15. The Nasdaq Composite eased 0.4% to 12,081.39. The technology-heavy index was up 0.5% at its highs and down nearly 1.6% at its lows.
Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russia had taken control of most of the eastern industrial city of Sievierodonetsk.
Russia's all-out assault on the city in Ukraine's Luhansk province has been met by tough resistance from Ukrainian forces.
Luhansk's regional governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said nearly all critical infrastructure in Sievierodonetsk had been destroyed and 60% of residential property damaged beyond repair.
"Most of Sievierodonetsk is under the control of the Russians. The town is not surrounded and the prerequisites for it to be are not in place," Gaidai said.
Biden to send rocket systems
US President Joe Biden and his team are still considering the sending of longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine but do not want them used to launch attacks inside Russian territory, the White House said on Tuesday.
US officials said Biden and his national security aides are in the final stages of preparing a new weapons package for Ukraine with an announcement expected soon, possibly as early as Wednesday.
Ukrainian officials have been asking allies for longer-range systems including the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS, that can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away, in the hopes of turning the tide in the three-month-long war.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this system is under consideration.
Russian widens gas cuts
Russia widened its gas cuts to Europe on Tuesday with Gazprom saying it will turn off supplies to several "unfriendly" countries which have refused to accept Moscow's roubles-for-gas payment scheme.
The move by the Russian gas giant is the latest retaliation to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow following its February 24-invasion of Ukraine, escalating its economic battle with Brussels and pushing up European gas prices.
Gazprom said on Tuesday it had fully cut off gas supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra.
It later said it would also stop as of June 1 gas flows to Denmark's Orsted and to Shell Energy for its contract on gas supplies to Germany, after both failed to make payments in roubles.
The announcements follow Monday's agreement by European Union leaders to cut the European Union's imports of Russian oil by 90% by year-end, the bloc's toughest yet response to the invasion.
Yellen's inflation comments
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that she was wrong in the past about the path inflation would take, but said easing price hikes is President Joe Biden's top priority and he supports the Federal Reserve's actions to achieve that.
Asked in a CNN interview whether she was wrong to downplay the threat that inflation posed in public statements over the past year, Yellen said: "I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take."
"As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that I didn't at the time fully understand," Yellen said. Adding that the shocks range from Russia's invasion of Ukraine to recent COVID-19 lockdowns in China.
"So really, the shocks to the economy have continued, but inflation is the number one concern for President Biden," Yellen said. Biden "believes strongly and is supportive of the independence of the Fed to take the steps that are necessary" to reduce inflation, Yellen added.
"We can't rule out further shocks," Yellen said.
Biden met earlier on Tuesday with Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Yellen.
US stocks
US stocks fell Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 222.84 points, or 0.7%, to close at 32,990.12. The S&P 500 dipped 0.6% to 4,132.15. The Nasdaq Composite eased 0.4% to 12,081.39. The technology-heavy index was up 0.5% at its highs and down nearly 1.6% at its lows.
