🔹The 15th Verona (EAEU) Eurasian Economic Forum 🇷🇺 🇦🇲 🇰🇿 🇰🇬 🇧🇾 has kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 instead of Italy 🇮🇹 for the 1st time. Issues of mutual economic cooperation, transport, & commodity markets to be discussed.

🔹The theme was "Eurasia on its Path to a New Geopolitical, Social & Economic Order. Transition to a New, Human-Centred Economy".

🔹Russia’s 🇷🇺 Minister of Economy, urges EAEU towards formation of an alternative system of international settlements independent of world reserve currencies.

🔹The head of Russia's VTB Bank said "ditching U.S. dollar 💵 & euro 💶 is an irreversible process for Russia".

🔹Russia and EAEU are considering the possibility of creating free trade zones with Mongolia 🇲🇳 & the UAE 🇦🇪.

🔹Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 interested in direct investments from EAEU states & expansion of trade relations.

🔹 Iran 🇮🇷 transport officials & the EAEU Trade Council, expressed willingness over launching rail transit 🚂 across Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus.

🔹Russian 🇷🇺 President Putin hailed Tayyip Erdogan as a "strong leader" who always defended Türkiye's interests. He said Erdogan was not always an "easy partner" to deal with, during today's plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow region.

🔹Türkiye’s 🇹🇷 finance minister has defended Ankara’s economic ties with Russia as “good neighbourly relations” even as western governments raise concerns & warn Türkiye of sanction evasion.

🔹President Putin's speech and Q&A went on for almost 4 hours.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Türkiye 🇹🇷 lambasts the US 🇺🇸 for bullying Saudi Arabia.

💠Saboteurs attempt to blow up 🧨 Turkstream Pipeline infrastructure. President Putin proposed building a major gas hub in Türkiye.

💠 The 🇺🇸 US Treasury sanctions on any institution outside Russia 🇷🇺 using the MIR payment system forces Türkiye to stop using MIR. Türkiye weighs possibility of using the Turkish 🇹🇷TROY payment system instead.

🔹Czech Republic 🇨🇿 - Tens of thousands of people gathered in Prague today (Oct 28th), to demand that the current Czech gov't give way to an administration which would adopt a neutral foreign policy, end military support to Ukraine 🇺🇦 & resume purchases of Russian 🇷🇺 natural gas.

🔹Czechs used a national holiday to rally against the pro-Western gov't that supports Ukraine. The protesters have repeatedly condemned the EU 🇪🇺 sanctions against Russia 🇷🇺 & opposed Czech membership in the EU/NATO. “Russia’s not our enemy, the gov't of warmongers is the enemy,” one speaker said.

Video compilation sourced from Telegram & Twitter posts.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Group called 'The Czech Republic 🇨🇿 in the First Place', organises protests & call for the resignation of the gov't over its alleged failure to manage the ongoing energy 🔌 crisis.

💠 Over 70,000 Czech 🇨🇿 protestors went to the streets of Prague, demanding the gov't take a neutral stand on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.

🔹U.S. 🇺🇸 exports 🚢 of nitrogen fertilizers / ammonia jumped to a multi-year high this summer after surging natural gas prices in Europe made U.S. shipments more competitive, since Russia 🇷🇺 is under sanctions.

Previous fertilizer posts on this channel:

💠 Norway's 🇳🇴 Yara International says Q3 2022 ammonia output dropped 📉 to 57% of capacity in Europe 🇪🇺, due to skyrocketing natural gas 📈 prices.

💠 UN 🇺🇳 spoke with EU 🇪🇺 leaders about lifting sanctions on Russian fertilizer exports. Russia 🇷🇺 wants to give 300,000 tons of Russian fertilizers stuck at EU ports to poor countries free of charge.

💠 Fertilizer manufacturing 🏭 shutdown across Europe.

💠 Ammonia fertilizer manufacturers to shut down in Germany🇩🇪, Lithuania 🇱🇹 & Poland 🇵🇱.

💠 Ammonia fertilizer producers in Norway🇳🇴 , Austria 🇦🇹 & UK 🇬🇧 cut production.

💠 Russia 🇷🇺 blocked from shipping fertilizers to poor countries for free.

💠 Belarus' 🇧🇾 president warn that sanctions will lead to global food crisis.

🔹US 🇺🇸- Logistics & fuel supply co., Mansfield Energy, says there is a shortage of diesel ⛽️in Southeastern US, including South & North Carolina. Carriers sometimes need to visit different terminals for supply 🚚.

🔹U.S. diesel supplies are becoming critically low with shortages & price spikes likely to occur in the next six months unless fuel consumption slow. Stocks of diesel & other distillate fuel oils were the lowest 📉 for the time of year since 1982.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 American oil refiners 🏭 are enjoying the best-ever diesel margins/profits.

💠 Saudi Arabia's 🇸🇦 energy minister warns nations' that use emergency oil reserves to manipulate prices.

💠 Historical charts showing US SPR depletion 📉 & declining refinery capacity.

💠 OPEC+ defends their role in 🛢 oil market stability at JMMC of the OPEC+ group HQ 🇦🇹.

💠 US 🇺🇸 reviewing various options regarding its relationship with Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 after OPEC+ cuts.

YouTuber Maneco64 spoke on this diesel crisis today.

🔹CEO of Spain's 🇪🇸 oil refiner Repsol SA- The loss of Russian diesel supply, combined with disruption of refining 🏭 in France, have left parts of Europe 🇪🇺short. “We are running out of middle distillates (diesel, heating oil, jet fuel) in some European countries,”.

🔹Ireland 🇮🇪 - Diesel at its second-highest price on record ⛽️, 4% more expensive than last month. Video- courtesy Ireland's RTE.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 The front-month East-West swap, a measure of the premium for diesel ⛽️ in Europe over Asia, widened to $60.50 a ton. It averaged $7.40 a ton in 2021.

💠 Diesel and petrol ⛽️ stations in parts of France 🇫🇷 are running out of fuel due to worker strikes at 🏭 oil refineries.

💠 The German 🇩🇪 gov't confiscates Russia's 🇷🇺 state-owned Rosneft's assets in order to control the PCK Schwedt oil refinery 🏭 to maintain diesel supply for Germany.

🔹Russia has halted its compliance with a grain deal with Kiev, 🇺🇦 brokered by the UN 🇺🇳 & Türkiye 🇹🇷, after Ukraine launched a major drone attack on ships 🚢 involved in securing safe passage for agricultural cargo, in the Black Sea.

🔹Russia’s 🌾 grain harvest this year has already set a new record. “To date, 147.5 million tons in bunker weight have been harvested" 🚜.

🔹 The western sanctions continue on ships 🚢 and shipping insurance, preventing agricultural exports.

Previous developments to this story:

💠 The grain deal hypocrisy by western countries, was exposed. Ukrainian 🇺🇦 grain is exported to Europe 🇪🇺not poor countries. (Before the deal, Russia was being blamed for starving poor countries from Black Sea grain access).

💠 Chairman of the African Union visits Russia 🇷🇺 & asked President Putin for help with solution to food 🌾 crisis in Africa.

💠 Grain deal signed with safe routes 🚢 made in Black Sea, after Ukraine mined 💣 the Black Sea. Previous deal was botched by Ukraine.

🔹The 🇺🇸 Biden admin plans further export controls that would clamp down on China’s 🇨🇳 ability to gain access to semiconductors & expects to soon secure a deal for allies to issue their own restrictions on selling such goods to China.

🔹Despite the federal gov't efforts to block Chinese telecom equipment from US 🇺🇸 supply chains, state & local gov'ts continued to acquire such.

🔹Manufacturers are dealing with "six months of stockpiles" 📈 that they built up as a result of 2021's shortage.

Video courtesy Spotlight on China.

Background to development reported on this channel:

💠TSMC 🇹🇼 complies with US regs. & suspended production of advanced silicon for China's 🇨🇳 Biren Tech.

💠 US bans exports 🚢 to China of equipment for 14nm chips.

💠South Korea 🇰🇷 attempts to assure China 🇨🇳 on supply chain amid US pressure.

💠 US 🇺🇸 share of semiconductor R&D has dropped drastically.

🔹 Moldova - Police brutalities reported with 28 people detained, amid another weekend of protests 🇲🇩. Valery Klymenko, Chisinau municipal councilor from the Shor party, suffered a heart attack after being detained.

🔹 Stand-offs between citizens & police 👮‍♂️are growing more violent 🔥 at every protest. Moldovans for months, have been protesting inflated 📈 prices for gas, electricity, water & other utilities.

🔹 Western media report the protests as a Russian 🇷🇺 operation for regime change.

Previous posts on this channel:

💠 Last week Sunday, police 🚓 brutalities continued amid a breakout of protests in Moldova. 🇲🇩 Western media did a blackout of these protests.

💠 Sunday, 2 weeks ago, 50,000 protestors gathered across Chisinau🇲🇩, the capital of Moldova. Weekend before 60,000 protested.

💠 Thousands protest high energy prices during September in Chisinau. State-backed gas distributor Moldovagaz failed to fulfil wholesale payments to its sole gas supplier, Russia's 🇷🇺 Gazprom.

🔹Qatar’s 🇶🇦 energy minister: "EU proposals to set limits on the price paid for natural gas are hypocritical”. "Interfering in markets contradicts the EU's competition rules 🇪🇺 previously applied to producers". “The free market is always the best solution,”.

🔹Norway's 🇳🇴 Equinor CEO says, "Any price cap is not really solving the fundamental problems". "In fact, it can be counterproductive, increasing demand while supply is not increasing."

🔹Europe has relied on U.S. 🇺🇸 LNG imports to offset the loss of Russian gas, receiving 70% of U.S. LNG exports 🚢 in Sept.

🔹Centrica said the UK 🇬🇧 has some of the lowest levels of gas storage in Europe, compared to Germany 🇩🇪@ 89 days' worth, France 🇫🇷 @ 103 & the Netherlands 🇳🇱 @ 123.

Previously reported on this channel:

💠 EU 🇪🇺 plans to use joint purchasing power as leverage in gas negotiations.

💠 Russia 🇷🇺 has warned that a gas price cap can result in gas flows cut-off.

💠 Hungary 🇭🇺 would not support a price cap on Russian gas.

🔹The Swiss 🇨🇭National Bank (SNB) lost 142.2 billion Swiss francs ($142.60 billion) in the first nine months of 2022, as rising interest rates & the stronger Swiss franc slashed the value of the central bank's foreign investments. The loss is the largest in the SNB's 115-year history.

🔹Meanwhile, Swiss 🇨🇭 based investment bank Credit Suisse, approached 20 banks 🏦 requesting a 4 billion francs ($4 billion) rights issue for a multi-year restructuring program. Saudi Arabia's 🇸🇦National Bank has already committed to roughly a third of the offer, becoming a big shareholder in Credit Suisse.

🔹After a period of scandals, hefty losses, executive turnover and waning market confidence, the 166-year-old Credit Suisse bank is trying to recover from a near-existential crisis. Credit Suisse obtained a local banking license in 2019 & last year opened an office in Riyadh 🇸🇦.

Video- Saudi Arabia's National Bank chairman speaking with CNBC.

🔹G-7 member Japan 🇯🇵, decided to officially backtrack on sanctions, & remain involved in the Sakhalin-1 oil & gas project in Russia 🇷🇺, as it seeks a stable supply of energy despite international sanctions on Moscow.

🔹Japan's 🇯🇵 Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry is a stakeholder in Tokyo-based Sakhalin Oil & Gas Development -- which owns 30% of Sakhalin-1's current operator.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 India’s 🇮🇳 Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is considering increasing its stake in the new Russian 🇷🇺 entity that will manage the Sakhalin-1 energy project as the US's Exxon Mobil exits.

💠 Russia’s 🇷🇺 Sakhalin-1 oil & gas project, will be transferred to a local entity. The same was done for the Sakhalin- 2 project earlier.

💠 Moscow approved Japan’s Mitsubishi participation in the Sakhalin-2 LNG project. 🚢 Tokyo Gas & JERA signs long term LNG contracts.

🔹US 🇺🇸 natural gas futures traded higher yesterday (Oct. 31st) as weather conditions forecasted to shift to the colder temperatures in 2 weeks. This results in traders securing positions, anticipating increased heating demand.

🔹Prices are also up on the restart of Maryland's Cove Point LNG export 🚢 plant & the planned return of Texas' Freeport LNG export terminal to partial service in early- to mid-November. The increased exports will boost demand for gas on the domestic market.

🔹"The gas rally underscores how sensitive traders are to potential cold blasts ❄️ as below-normal stockpiles and booming exports stoke concern about whether supplies will be enough to meet demand in a deep freeze,".

Last reported on this channel:

💠Heating 🔥gas/fuel costs for U.S. consumers forecasted to rise based on multiple parameters.

💠High US natural gas prices 📈 incentivizes shale drillers.

💠U.S. 🇺🇸 shale gas producers are struggling to keep up with demand.

🔹Wheat 🌾 futures on the US CBOT up nearly 8% to $8.93 a bushel yesterday (Oct 31.) as many funds had to buy into grain markets to cover their positions.

🔹Market reaction came after news that Russia suspends a grain deal with Kiev, 🇺🇦 brokered by the UN 🇺🇳 & Türkiye 🇹🇷. Russia did so after ships in the Black Sea were attacked by Ukraine.

🔹Yesterday, Pakistan 🇵🇰 approved a plan to buy 300,000 metric tonnes of wheat from Russia.

🔹Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 expects to harvest 380,000 tonnes of wheat to cover local consumption & not import.

🔹Brazil 🇧🇷 to buy wheat from US, Canada & Russia after Argentina's wheat crop failure.

Previous developments to this story:

💠 Grain deal hypocrisy by western countries, exposed. Ukrainian grain is exported to Europe 🇪🇺not poor countries.

💠 Chairman of the African Union visits Russia & asked President Putin for help with solution to food 🌾 crisis in Africa.

💠 Grain deal signed with safe routes 🚢 made in Black Sea. Previous deal was botched by Ukraine.

🔹Iran 🇮🇷 - $6.5 billion memorandum with Russia's 🇷🇺 Gazprom converted into a firm contract. “God willing, the rest of the memorandum worth $40 billion will be converted into contracts in the next month.

🔹The swap deal, plans to help transport gas between northern & southern Iranian provinces, cheaper for consumers.

🔹Iran & Armenia 🇦🇲 signed a memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation in the energy field, doubling Iran's gas exports to Armenia.

Previously reported on this channel:

💠 Russia & Iran working out mechanisms to implement oil 🛢 and gas swap deals. Iran's First VP calls Caspian littoral states to create an oil and gas cooperation committee.

💠 Iran & Russia 🇷🇺 unifying banking systems for trade in ruble/rial currency pair.

💠 Iran🇮🇷 signs MOU's at SCO meeting in Samarkand.

💠 Iran transport officials & the EAEU Trade Council, expressed willingness over launching rail transit across Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬, Russia 🇷🇺, Belarus 🇧🇾.

🔹 USA - 🇺🇸 Projection of EV growth raises concerns over the increasing strain on power grids being ill-equipped to shoulder the load. The ASCE says the inability of the US to maintain its many power lines will cost 130 billion.

🔹FERC reports that the Texas grid since Feb. 2021's catastrophic Winter ❄️ Storm Uri remains nearly just as vulnerable.

🔹 23% of the currently operating coal-fired 🏭 capacity has announced plans to retire by 2029.

🔹Between wind, solar, & natural gas tech., natural gas received the least 📉U.S. investment in 2020, making up 13% of total investment across all energy sources ($6.1 billion).

Recent posts on the US power grid:

💠 Utility co.’s face delays & high costs 📈 for transformers.

💠 A surge in decommissioning fossil fuel power plants 🏭 has outpaced new generation capacity.

💠 Utilities are warning of supply constraints for equipment.

💠 Increased EV 🚗 use leading to demand strain on grid sectors.

💠 GE plans to make major job cuts in its U.S. wind operations.

🔹Brazilian 🇧🇷 authorities are clearing blockades set up across the country by truckers 🚚 to protest President Jair Bolsonaro's narrow loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Protesters were blocking highways partially or fully in 146 locations this evening, down from around 190 last night.

🔹Police 🚓 said 688 roadblocks had been cleared across the country. Bolsonaro has not conceded defeat but has authorized his chief of staff to begin the transition process.

🔹Shouts of "Federal intervention now" & banners stating "Armed Forces save our Brazil", are observed as demonstrators question the elections result. VP Mourao does not agree with the argument that the elections were manipulated. Lula, won with 50.9% of the vote, to Bolsonaro’s 49.1%.

🔹Some question why the US 🇺🇸 would go from being hostile to a Lula gov't to ostensibly supporting it. Maybe due to Lula not campaigning on any platform to revolutionize 🇧🇷 Brazilian society?

Video compilation: Sourced from various Telegram channels.

🔹Pakistan's 🇵🇰 former PM, Imran Khan, has been shot & wounded in the leg after an assassination attempt during a protest march in Wazirabad. Six others were also injured. One of Khan’s supporters died. Protests 🔥 are increasing at the moment into the night.

🔹He was leading the march on the capital Islamabad to demand snap elections after he was ousted in a no-confidence vote back in April. There has been vast number of massive protests across Pakistan 🇵🇰in the past months in support of former PM Khan.

🔹It is alleged that the US & other foreign state actors funded millions of dollars 💵 to opposition parties in Pakistan to secure the no-confidence vote of 174 in the 342-member house.

🔹Former PM Khan named the US 🇺🇸 as the foreign meddler, claiming to have evidence that a senior US official told Islamabad’s diplomats that relations with Pakistan 🇵🇰 would improve in Khan’s absence.

Video compilation: Sourced from various Telegram channels.

🔹 Russia 🇷🇺 resumes participation to the Black Sea grain deal only after Türkiye 🇹🇷, informed Russia that Ukraine had given assurances to refrain from using the corridor for military purposes.

🔹 Russia expressed concern about violations, where many of Ukraine's 🇺🇦 shipments were sent to rich European 🇪🇺 countries rather than struggling nations elsewhere in the world.

🔹 Turkish President Erdogan expressed Russia's plan to ship food to Djibouti 🇩🇯, Somalia 🇸🇴, & Sudan 🇸🇩.

🔹President Putin says Moscow reserves the right to withdraw from the grain 🌾 agreements if Kyiv violates it.

Previous developments to this story:

💠 Russia 🇷🇺 suspends grain deal after ships in the Black Sea were attacked by Ukraine.

💠 Grain deal hypocrisy by western countries, exposed.

💠 Chairman of the African Union visits Russia & asked President Putin for help with solution to food 🌾 crisis in Africa.

💠 Grain deal signed with safe routes 🚢 made in Black Sea. Previous deal was botched by Ukraine.

🔹USA - 🇺🇸 The surge in avian influenza (birdflu) at farms this year has led to the culling of more than 8 million turkeys, resulting in a short supply of 20 pound turkeys 🦃 for Thanksgiving.

🔹2 days ago a commercial farm with 1.1 million chickens in Wright County, Iowa, detected bird-flu and culled all the birds 🐓. Over 47 million birds have died or euthanised across 42 🇺🇸 states in 2022.

🔹Spain 🇪🇸 - Two poultry farm workers tested positive for bird flu following an outbreak in poultry, the 1st known human infections in Spain & the 2nd in Europe since 2003.

🔹UK 🇬🇧 - Various family run farms are culling birds due to bird flu outbreak.

Video courtesy WoodTV8 & GBNews.

Earlier bird flu posts on this channel:

💠 Millions of chickens euthanized to prevent spread of bird flu at US & UK farms.

💠 Death of seabirds in Canada 🇨🇦 linked to bird flu.

💠 US egg 🥚prices increase due to culling of hens across US.

💠 Quebec, Canada duck-farming 🦤 operation face financial ruin due to bird flu.

🔹Gold demand has soared 📈 by central banks that bought a record 399 tonnes of gold in Q3 2022.

🔹Iron ore demand falls amid China's steel mills production cuts in summer, 🇨🇳 pollution rules limiting operations & property market slowing.

🔹EV push creating a higher global demand for nickel. US 🇺🇸 need to streamline the mine-permitting process in order to cope. Nickel ore inventory up at China's ports.

🔹Global copper smelting declined 📉 in Oct. due to fears of a recession, weak demand & maintenance shutdowns.

🔹Concerns arise if Biden admin decides to ban Russian 🇷🇺 aluminium. The U.S. lacks existing smelter capacity, or primary production, to meet domestic demand.

🔹Jump in US 🇺🇸 crime rings stealing catalytic converters for rhodium, palladium & platinum.

🔹Indonesia 🇮🇩 plans to expand it's downstream industry for tin rather than exporting 🚢 it's supply.

🔹Rumors of a silver 🪙 short squeeze & COMEX unreported inventory shortages of physical metal.

Photo courtesy VisualCapitalist.