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Russia mulls new sanctions against Western countries, Finland a possible target

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a Security Council meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 3, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA-Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo) MOSCOW — Russia will consider new selective retaliatory measures against some specific Western countries, the nation’s security chief said Friday, pointing at Finland as a possible target. The tough statement appears to herald a new round in spiraling Russia-West confrontation over Ukraine. It followed a session of Russia’s Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, who vowed to firmly resist Western pressure and ordered to draft a new response. Russia may, for example, revise favourable conditions for Finnish timber traders in response to Helsinki’s refusal to issue a visa to the Russian lower house speaker, the council’s secretary, Nikolai Patrushev said. He added in televised remarks that Russia wouldn’t necessarily make the move, but wants to consider this and other retaliatory measures. Finland has […]

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With ‘No’ Greek Vote, Tsipras Wins a Victory That Could Carry a Steep Price

Photo Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece addressed the nation on Sunday amid a referendum on the European bailout. Credit Pool photo by Reuters ATHENS — Now comes the hard part. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may have won a victory at home on Sunday as the Greek people dealt a resounding “no” to European austerity policies. But Greece risks paying a high price for that decision. While the vote sharply consolidated Mr. Tsipras’s popularity, that could fade quickly if he leads the country deeper into bankruptcy and financial chaos, creating a new round of instability with consequences for Greece and the broader European project. If anything, Mr. Tsipras is likely to find it harder, rather than easier, to strike a new financing deal quickly with European creditors, heightening the risk that Greece will careen out of the eurozone unless Europe decides to give Mr. Tsipras and his defiant nation […]

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Yanis Varoufakis Abruptly Resigns as Greek Finance Minister

Photo Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, before a speech in Athens on Sunday, a day in which voters rejected the terms of a European bailout. He resigned early Monday. Credit Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters ATHENS — Greece’s combative finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, who took a strong stand in demanding that creditors write off some of his country’s debts, abruptly resigned on Monday morning. Mr. Varoufakis had played a central role in rallying votes for a resounding no on a referendum on Sunday that asked Greeks whether they were willing to accept an arrangement with creditors that would require considerable further austerity, such as pension cuts. Mr. Varoufakis had threatened last week to resign in the event of a yes vote, and his decision to step down after he and his allies prevailed in the referendum was unexpected. His resignation appeared to be the first move at conciliation toward Greece’s creditors […]

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Eurozone Central Bank Now Controls Destiny of Greece’s Battered Banks

Continue reading the main story Slide Show Slide Show|10 Photos Greeks Celebrate Victory for the ‘No’ Side Greeks Celebrate Victory for the ‘No’ Side CreditEirini Vourloumis for The New York Times FRANKFURT — Now that Greek voters have said no to the economic demands of its international creditors, the fate of the country’s struggling banks is in the hands of the European Central Bank . Greece ’s banks, closed since last Monday because they are perilously low on cash, have been kept alive in recent weeks by emergency loans from the European Central Bank. On Monday, the central bank’s policy makers plan to convene to determine how much longer they are willing to prop up the Greek banks, now that the country has essentially said no to the unpopular dictates of the other eurozone countries. No economy can function properly without banks; if they topple, so would the Greek […]

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Greek bank closures may deplete supermarket shelves

* Ban on int’l bank transfers crimps local operations * Finance Ministry: Firms can fax requests to wire money * Firms are finding solutions but remain cautious By Martinne Geller and Lefteris Karagiannopoulos LONDON/ATHENS, July 3 (Reuters) – A halt to international payments from Greek bank accounts is hurting Greek businesses and their foreign partners and threatening supplies of vital goods like food and clothing into the debt-crippled country. With banks closed, people limited to withdrawing 60 euros ($66.62) per day and Greece’s future in the euro possibly hinging on a referendum on Sunday, Greek shoppers have been stocking up on essentials like sugar, flour, pasta, rice, beans, canned and paper goods. Shelves remain full for now as retailers have inventories in storage. But capital controls put in place after Greece defaulted on a loan to international creditors have essentially frozen companies’ cash flows and credit. This has severely […]

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European heat wave gives Germany record temperature

AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau BERLIN (AP) — Europe’s heat wave has pushed the mercury to its highest level in Germany since measurements began in 1881. The country’s national weather service says an automated measurement station recorded a temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.54 Fahrenheit) in Kitzingen, northern Bavaria, on Sunday afternoon. Weather service spokesman Uwe Kirsche said Monday that the record won’t be official until technicians have manually checked the station. But he says "we assume that our equipment worked properly." The previous record of 40.2 Celsius was measured in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe in 2003. Storms across parts of Germany on Sunday night brought temperatures back down.

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Oil drops on rising U.S. rig count

LONDON Oil prices fell on Friday as a rising U.S. rig count stoked fears of global oversupply and after Chinese regulators opened an investigation into suspected stock market manipulation. U.S. oil drilling increased this week for the first time after 29 weeks of declines, a sign U.S. oil production may start to increase more strongly again after a slowdown due to a period of low oil prices. Oil rigs increased by 12 to 640 following a slump that cut the number of active U.S. rigs from a peak of 1,609 in October to a nearly five-year low last week, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc ( BHI.N ) said. "This is the first weekly increase in 30 weeks and is an indication that the slump in drilling activity has ended," said Carsten Fritsch, senior oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Oil prices have retreated on that news," Fritsch told […]

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Tanker arrivals create volatility in U.S. oil stocks: Kemp

LONDON U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly rose by almost 2.4 million barrels last week, breaking a run of eight consecutive weekly declines and sending oil prices sharply lower. But did the market overreact when the stock numbers were released on Wednesday – misinterpreting normal week-to-week variability in the data as a fundamental shift in the balance between supply and demand? Tanker arrivals create quite a bit of “noise” in the weekly inventory data which can easily be confused with shifts in the supply-demand balance over short periods. Reported crude stockpiles are driven by three factors: domestic crude production, crude imports, and refinery runs. Domestic output is fairly constant week to week, but imports and runs are highly variable. In 2014, U.S. refineries processed an average of 15.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Domestic crude production was around 8.7 million bpd in 2014 and the country imported around 7.3 million bpd […]

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Crude oil values rise across the Mediterranean on Kirkuk outage

Most Mediterranean and Urals crude markets have strengthened this week, boosted by the absence of Iraq’s Kirkuk from the prompt spot market, prompting end-users to seek replacement barrels. Flows from northern Iraq — where Kirkuk is produced — to tanks operated by Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil in Ceyhan, Turkey, were halted early last month amid ongoing disagreement over oil and gas payments between the Kurdistan Regional Government and central government in Baghdad. Loading delays at Ceyhan have risen above 20 days, sources said. "The situation is a total disaster," a crude trader said. "There has been no news from SOMO, and vessels have been waiting for nearly a month on demurrage. People should be nominating vessels for the July program." Article continues below… The Platts Global Energy Awards is a competitive awards program honoring excellence and accomplishments in the global energy industry. The 17th annual awards […]

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Iran nuclear talks in endgame, negotiators push on sticking points

VIENNA A year and half of nuclear talks between Iran and major powers were creeping towards the finish line on Friday as negotiators wrestled with sticking points including questions about Tehran’s past atomic research. Iran is in talks with the United States and five other powers – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – on an agreement to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. "We are coming to the end," said a senior Western diplomat, who added there was no plan to carry on for long past next Tuesday. "Either we get an agreement or we don’t," he said, adding that the process "remains quite difficult". Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Iranian state television that "a lot of progress has been made, but still various technical issues remain that need the other party’s political will". Still, all sides say a deal is […]

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