132 Comments

  2. Catherine and John,
    thanks for another great Money and Markets episode!
    As to the Rosneft takeover situation in Germany (Schwedt PCK refinery on the border to Poland) and the question of whether Rosneft was/will be compensated, here is the official statement by the Bundesnetzagentur (it is not an expropriation, yet, and they are not paying either, it’s a fiduciary arrangement for the next 6 months) and they are appointing CEOs:
    https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2022/20220916_Rosneft.html
    https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/EN/2022/20220921_Rosneft.html

    Looks like there is some pressure from Poland in this issue as well – Germany will be reliant on Poland delivering oil to this refinery once the Russian oil supply stops at the end of the year and Poland has stated that they are not willing to deliver as long as Russia holds the majority of shares in the company (the 54% share seems to be the correct number, by the way):
    https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Polen-stellt-Bedingung-fuer-Ollieferung-article23606668.html

    Rosneft wants to sue the German government over this action. The German government says expropriation is also possible due to provisions in laws concerning “energy security” of the country.

    Best regards, Dagmar

      1. You’re welcome, Nick. The information on gas/oil/power/energy in Germany is weird, in my opinion. Suddenly the “gas reserves” (Gasspeicher) are filled up to 90% (not mentioning that the gas storing facilities only make up ca 20% of the amount of gas used in Germany and was only ever designed to be a buffer to when gas demand fluctuates too much or gas supply is shorter than usual) – now suddenly, gas prices start going down a little…

    3. Thanks so much for this info Dagmar. My first reaction was that the Russian ownership would have the potential for legal action and I was glad when Catherine and John brought this issue up in this Money & Mkts Report, however, it would all hinge on the contractual agreements and your last sentence Dagmar indicates that there may be confiscation “wiggle room” on Germany’s part. Interesting how sovereignty pops up between countries when it’s “convenient”.

      1. You’re welcome, Cathleen. You just voiced what I also thought when I heard about that Rosneft might be taking legal action – the actual business contracts may not “allow” what Germany is doing, but the provisions for expropriations have been made and suddenly, business contracts may not matter anymore…Rule of law vs rule of man.

  3. By the “engineered recruiting challenges” below I meant the variation in toxicity of batches per state, as Howbad.info uncovered some months ago. Tennessee appeared to have been targeted, as did the “red” states generally.
    Four questions please:
    1) Catherine, what do you think will make the $ turn, and if it does, against which FX?
    2) why do you not view bail ins as a risk?
    3) you applied the winnowing of the number of car companies in Detroit analogy to crypto, CBs and sovereign nations. Would you expand on the latter two, and especially the last?
    4) do I understand correctly you think the ambition is for the BIS to end up as single issuer of a – the – global CBDC?
    Amazing you two haven’t met in person – Godspeed!

    1. Bail ins are a risk but far from the only one.

      Given the digital systems, the BIS can set the rules centrally with many CBDCS. They can achieve the goals of one single one without being a single one.

  4. Had noticed the engineered recruiting challenges for the armed forces, too, and presumed it was about legitimising transhumanism (fewer, higher performing individuals) and use of robots. But you’re right, use of mercenaries also falls into that category. Wonder if that is why 5 British mercenaries have just been released to much fanfare, to oil the wheels of public sentiment to give them POW status.

  6. uff, corporations want the rights of a person but not the responsibility of a person, there is an imbalance of power there…it’s thinking like that why I am still a Solari member, love it.

  7. That whole Vatican story is interesting. It reminds me of when someone, supposedly John Wilkes Boothe, assassinated Abraham Lincoln, and the United States government broke relations with the Vatican as a result. It was not until Ronald Reagan became president that the USG renewed its relationship with the Vatican.

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