China is reselling US liquefied natural gas (LNG) on lower domestic demand to energy-strained European states for massive profits, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. Once the largest importer of LNG, China is now exporting on a large scale. As domestic demand for energy has been falling in recent months, China has begun reselling excess LNG onto the global market, with Europe, Japan and South Korea among key buyers.
Taking advantage of low-cost purchases under long-term contracts, Chinese energy companies are selling US LNG to Europe, reaping "hundreds of millions of dollars per cargo". The outlet has pointed out that the number of LNG vessels from the US docked in China from January to August has decreased from 133 recorded in one period last year to only 19 during the same period this year. Not only is American gas being sold on by Beijing, this year China has also imported almost 30% more gas from Russia, and at a significant discount, the outlet wrote, citing shipping data. China’s LNG imports from Russia surged in August to their highest level in at least two years. In September, the Sakhalin-2 LNG export plant in Russia’s Far East sold several shipments to China for delivery through December at nearly half the current spot price, Bloomberg reported, citing traders familiar with the matter.
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FORMULA 1 HONDA JAPANESE GRAND PRIX 2022 - Top 10 Qualifying Results
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Credit Suisse, the investment bank whose shares plummeted to record lows this week over fears it could be on the brink of collapse, is selling the five-star Savoy hotel in the centre of Zurich for as much as 400m Swiss francs (£361m).
The bank, whose stock has fallen by more than 40% in the past six months, said on Thursday it had put the 184-year-old hotel on Paradeplatz in the heart of the city’s financial district on the market as part of a regular review of its global real estate assets. “As part of this process, the bank has decided to start a sales process for the Hotel Savoy,” a spokesperson said. “We will carefully assess all offers and potential investors and communicate any decision in due course.” The news was first reported by the financial news blog Inside Paradeplatz. It said the hotel, which is undergoing a major refurbishment and due to reopen in 2024 as Hotel Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich, was the bank’s last remaining “trophy asset” and described its sale as a “king-size distress signal”. “The intended sale of the Savoy shows how serious the situation at the big bank is. Despite the conversion and restart as Mandarin in 2024, [Credit Suisse] apparently wants to part with the noble building in a top location as an emergency,” said the blog, which is written by Lukas Hässig and has broken a string of market-moving stories in Switzerland. “The CS bosses feel compelled to throw everything that still has value on the market. You need liquidity to stay afloat – too many customers are running away.” Credit Suisse has had to urgently raise capital, stop share buybacks and cut its dividend after a serious of crises and scandals. The bank plunged from a profit of Sfr2.7bn in 2020 to a loss of Sfr1.6bn last year, driven mostly by big losses on its investments in the failed supply chain finance group Greensill and the hedge fund Archegos – where US authorities have charged founder Bill Hwang and three others with racketeering and fraud offences after its collapse. Credit Suisse has also paid large fines after admitting to fraud over bonds it issued that were supposed to be used to fund tuna fishing in Mozambique but where some of the proceeds were diverted by one of its contractors in the country to pay kickbacks, including to bankers at Credit Suisse. And its private banking division – traditionally a cornerstone of Swiss banking – has been put under pressure after Suisse secrets, an investigation conducted by a consortium including the Guardian that exposed the hidden wealth of clients involved in torture, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption and other serious crimes. Credit Suisse shares, which were worth more than Sfr9 in January, collapsed to a record low of Sfr3.5 on Monday, but have since recovered slightly to Sfr4.2.
Franz Tost, Team Principal, Scuderia AlphaTauri: “Over the years we have developed an amazing working relationship with Honda and it’s great to be continuing to strengthen this with a variety of activities, including displaying the iconic logo on the car once again, starting from the Japanese Grand Prix. We are very thankful for the hard work from Honda during our time together, allowing us to achieve several podiums as well as Pierre’s race win in Monza, and we hope that this success will continue into the future.”
Koji Watanabe, Head of Corporate Communications Supervisory Unit, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and President of Honda Racing Corporation: “The HRC logo on the nose and Honda logo on the side of the race machines of both teams represent the strong ties between Honda and Red Bull Group. Through the technical support provided by HRC, Honda will fully support the challenges those machines take on to become the ‘fastest in the world.’ We are very pleased that these machines will be unveiled at the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, where Honda serves as the title sponsor. Please root for the two Red Bull Group teams which compete with power units loaded with Honda technologies.” About Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) Honda Racing Cooperation (HRC) is Honda’s subsidiary funded in 1982 in charge of Honda’s motor sports operation. Its history started in motorcycle categories doing development and operation for its own works team as well as development/sales of racing cars/motorbikes/engines and other accessories for its customers teams. HRC has so far achieved more than 800 Motorcycle Grand Prix wins with 25 constructors’ titles and 20 riders’ titles in its top category, and it also won numerous titles in categories such as trial and motocross. From 2022, HRC participated in car racing and this means it is now fully in charge of the wide range of racing activities of Honda. British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Sept. 23 unveiled the UK’s biggest tax cuts since 1972 to tackle high energy costs and inflation, and to boost productivity and wages. However, the plan has roiled financial markets, as it lacks detailed forecasts on economic growth, inflation and public finances, and involves no firm commitments to fiscal discipline.
The concerns over the plan, coupled with the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and fears of a global recession, pushed the British pound to an all-time low against the US dollar last week. Investors also ditched UK bonds as yields spiked amid expectations of ballooning government debt and even higher inflation. British equity markets also fell, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 hitting its lowest level since March. The volatility prompted the Bank of England to intervene by pledging unlimited purchases of long-dated bonds. However, the emergency measure is not expected to have major implications for the British central bank’s monetary policy, as it was deployed mainly to preserve financial stability. At the same time, investors would remain jittery about an ongoing bond sell-off once the two-week intervention period ends on Friday next week. Economists and investment strategists have said the British crisis could spill over to global markets, similar to Russia’s default on its domestic debt in 1998 and the Greek debt crisis in 2009, when domestic crises led to larger financial turmoil. Former US secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that he was worried the British crisis might trigger a global crisis if the Truss government does not take steps to stop the bleeding in the pound and government bonds. As the pound is a global reserve currency, a balance-of-payment crisis in the UK could reverberate beyond the nation’s borders, Summers said. Seven Investment Management LLP strategist Ben Kumar said fear might be contagious and warned that UK equity outflows could prompt parallel selloffs worldwide, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday. More importantly, the UK’s troubles this time around are not just market turmoil caused by its own fiscal policies, but a reflection of the vulnerability of financial markets as policymakers revise their monetary and fiscal strategies after years of ultra-loose monetary policies. Specifically, there is growing tension between monetary and fiscal policymakers, as central banks hike rates to fight inflation while other government agencies prefer low interest rates, tax cuts and other incentives to spur post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Many central banks have raised interest rates and some have adopted quantitative tightening by selling the assets they have accumulated over the years. This two-pronged tightening has led to dramatic volatility in interest rates worldwide and caused global currencies to weaken against the ever-surging US dollar, with the euro falling to its lowest in 20 years, the Chinese yuan dropping to a 14-year low and the New Taiwan dollar looking to test the critical barrier of NT$32 against the greenback. Over the past two years, the world has made a concerted effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. However, countries need to work more closely together in the face of a likely vicious cycle triggered by the synchronized rate hikes to avoid a global financial crisis. As for Taiwan, the government must make financial, economic and industrial adjustments to cope with the challenge of a potential global recession.
2022 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS
The BRICS countries are working on establishing a new reserve currency to better serve their economic interests, ambassador at large of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Pavel Knyazev said this week. It will be based on a basket of the currencies of the five-nation bloc. “The possibility and prospects of setting up a common single currency based on a basket of currencies of the BRICS countries is being discussed,” Knyazev said during a discussion about expanding BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
According to the diplomat, member states are “actively studying mechanisms” to exchange financial information to develop a reliable alternative for international payments. In an effort to reduce reliance on the dollar and euro, BRICS is set to build a joint financial infrastructure that will enable a reserve currency to be created. The group, which comprises Brazil, Russia India, China, and South Africa, has been boosting economic ties, with trade turnover steadily growing despite restrictions brought on by the pandemic and conflict in Ukraine. BRICS had previously said it was working on establishing a joint payment network to cut reliance on the Western financial system. The member countries have also been increasing the use of local currencies in mutual trade.
2022 Formula 1 World Championship Drivers' Standings
FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2022 - Race Results
FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE AIRLINES SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX 2022 - Top 10 Qualifying Results
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