CRYPTO NEWS - Ukraine's deputy PM & Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, has called on crypto exchanges to freeze the accounts of both Russian and Belarusian users. Fedorov praised a move by NFT platform DMarket to freeze accounts belonging to customers in Russia and Belarus. Meanwhile, the amount of tracked crypto donations sent to the Ukrainian government, military and charities has surpassed $37 million. https://tinyurl.com/5n83dy3j

Spain- February inflation (CPI) soars to 7.4% and 3% core CPI, highest in 3 decades and fastest since 1989. Government refuses to adjust taxes to CPI. The price increase is mainly due to energy prices exacerbated by volatile energy markets in Europe due to sanctions on Russia. The separate EU-harmonised consumer price index for Spain rose 7.5% in the 12 months to February. Economy Minister Nadia Calvino warned the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last Thursday may keep inflation high in the region in the future as it triggered oil and gas price hikes. https://tinyurl.com/y7kj2nch

EU about to dictate rules over cryptocurrency use in Europe. ECB President Christine Lagarde, has called on lawmakers in the EU to speed up efforts to pass MiCA crypto regulation. MiCA regulations include the unknown status of a draft provision that sought to ban the use of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether in the EU over energy concerns. Also, no stablecoins can be offered to the public or admitted to trading on a trading platform for crypto-assets, unless the issuer is authorized in the EU. https://tinyurl.com/yz5wzav2

Soybean futures contract prices rising. A backlog of vessels waiting to load soybeans from some Brazilian ports is stretching to near-record lengths as the world’s biggest bean exporter struggles to harvest and ship this season’s crop due to extreme weather. Following harvest woes and heavy rains that have made it challenging to dry and transport the beans, some boats have now been waiting for more than 40 days for their cargoes. https://tinyurl.com/25c27rm4

World's biggest shipping company suspends container shipments to and from Russia. The suspension will apply to all goods except food, medical supplies and humanitarian equipment. The shipping giant said it was already starting to see operational delays in the global supply chain. https://tinyurl.com/sfsw5v4d

BREAKING - Wheat traded “limit up,” which refers to the highest amount the price of a commodity is allowed to increase in a single day. Wheat futures trading on the Chicago Board of Trade are at their highest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis. Wheat futures rose 5.35% to 984 cents per bushel as of 11:30 a.m. ET. Sanctions against Russia is having blowback on western economies and global markets. Russia is the largest exporter of wheat and Ukraine is among the four biggest exporters of the commodity. Corn futures on also last traded up 5.07% at 725.75 cents per bushel, their highest level since May.

Chart from the Chicago Board Of Trade to correspond with the wheat price per bushel. Didn't get it in time for the post. Apologies.

Toyota Motor on Tuesday halted operations at all of its plants in Japan after a major supplier was hit by a cyberattack. The company is suspending 28 lines at 14 plants. Subsidiaries Hino Motors and Daihatsu Motor will also halt operations at some plants in Japan. https://tinyurl.com/mr2ns8s7

Bridgestone-Firestone tire factories across North America and Latin America are still struggling to recover from a cyberattack after sending workers home for multiple days. "Until we learn more from this investigation, we cannot determine with certainty the scope or nature of any potential incident. https://tinyurl.com/4jav9u8p

The website for the Moscow Stock Exchange went down after a cyberattack. (Unverified claim) The Ukraine IT Army, a crowdsourced community of hackers endorsed by Kyiv officials, called on members to launch attacks on the website, Moex[.]com, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister who announced the formation of the Army, celebrated on Facebook. The Moscow Exchange remains closed for the second day. https://tinyurl.com/2p8yrxax

U.S. crude prices hit their highest point in more than a decade. UK Brent Crude @$111.20 up +5.94%. US WTI Crude $109.47 up +5.72%. OPEC+ group of national producers stopped short of adding unplanned supply. OPEC+’s decision leaves oil supply incredibly tight with little hope for an immediate respite as traders shun Russian oil. Russia is a major producer of crude and any disruptions to its ability to supply markets risks pushing the price of the commodity higher. While a widespread Russian oil embargo has yet to materialize, tough financial sanctions look to already be wreaking havoc on supply chains as traders “self-sanction.”

We have not seen any confirmed retaliation for cyberattacks shutting down Russia's stock exchange, financial institutions, their state media websites and Central Bank/government websites. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Cyber Army has been quiet. They have been quiet and never got retribution for Stuxnet destroying Iran’s Natanz nuclear plant. Many in the west are unaware of how 'Shock Doctrine' works which makes us ill prepared for what may be coming. Stuxnet is still out there and modified in many ways. A recommended watch is Zero Days. https://www.bitchute.com/video/UoEy4yfsUtFE/

BREAKING - Wheat prices trade 'limit up' again, hit highest in nearly 14 years. Wheat futures hit $10.59 per bushel, up 7.62%, as of 9:39 a.m. ET. “Limit up,” refers to the highest amount the price of a commodity is allowed to increase in a single day. Russia is the largest exporter of wheat and Ukraine is among the four biggest exporters of the commodity. Black Sea ports would remained closed, "meaning that no wheat shipments can be sent from Ukraine by sea for an indefinite period,".

Ex-terrorist Maajid Nawaz, founding chairman of counter Islamist extremism think tank – Quilliam, called CBDCs a threat to financial freedom as government can control and track it. CBDCs will become the biggest threat to individual privacy and financial freedom. Although it may appear appealing, one should remember that the entire control sits in the hands of the government. https://www.bitchute.com/video/RnqhPtnf7bO3/

Taiwan reported a massive blackout on Thursday that is affecting its two biggest cities. Taipei, the capital, and Kaohsiung, the second biggest city, were among the areas affected. Literally half of Taiwan across north, center, and south saw 50% drop according to Taipower (the state-owned power provider) website real-time power total usage comparison with yesterday. Taiwan Power Co. said its southern power grid system encountered a malfunction, causing the blackout.

CRYPTO- US Federal Reserve Chairman testifies: Cryptocurrencies should not be tolerated because it evades national security concerns and law enforcement. Need to strike balance between privacy and national security for public transactions.

Chaos erupts in Nitrogen Fertilizer markets. Fire at nitrogen fertilizer manufacturer storage facility in Yakima County, Washington US containing 1.75 million pounds of mixed components for fertilizers. Fire report & video: https://tinyurl.com/ef2sn5jx

Russia is a major low-cost exporter of many kinds of crop nutrients. “No other nation has the same breadth of readily exportable fertilizer supply". “Their fertilizers move to all continents.” Major buyers of Russia’s plentiful fertilizer supplies are scrambling for product. https://tinyurl.com/myyp2azp

U.S. crude prices hit another highest point in more than a decade again. UK Brent Crude hit a high of $113.14 and US WTI Crude $111.41 before correcting 2%. A scramble for U.S. and Brent crude comes as global buyers have no access to pay for Russian oil and cargoes sailing from Russia are finding it nearly impossible to get insurance. US investors are being advised to position themselves defensively in anticipation of a recession. Japan's PM Fumio Kishida plans to help residents and businesses facing difficulty due to a surge in oil prices with $3 billion in relief funds.

Westbound gas flows from Russia to Germany via the Yamal-Europe pipeline stopped today (Thursday 03). The German-Polish section of the pipeline switched into reverse, eastbound, mode on Dec. 21 as buyers in Poland drew on stored supplies from Germany rather than buying more Russian gas at high spot prices. Gazprom has intermittingly sent gas westward via the link in recent days amid high demand in Europe. It has also increased supplies to Europe via Ukraine, another key route (Brotherhood/Soyuz pipelines). Gazprom said on Thursday it was shipping gas to Europe in line with customers' requests. Russian gas accounts for some 40% of European gas demand, while the Yamal-Europe pipeline usually accounts for about 15% of Russia's westbound supply of gas to Europe and Turkey. Western media now accuses Russia’s Gazprom of deliberately cutting European supplies. Sources in comment. ⬇️

Wheat futures contract on the US CBOT gained 7.1% to $11.34 a bushel on Thursday 03rd, hitting the exchange’s high limits for how much the price can move in a session for the third-straight day. Wheat futures have climbed around 22% this week. Wheat is up +72% YTD. Corn futures have jumped 14% and soybean futures 5% this week. Much higher oil and natural gas prices will increase the costs of shipping wheat to mills, flour to bakers, and bread and cakes to supermarket shelves. High fertilizer prices are likely to cause farmers to use less and result in lower crop yields. China’s wheat prices surpass 3,000 yuan a tonne for the first time