🔹Reports- Major 🇺🇸 US cellular providers and Apple's messaging service are experiencing disruptions. ⚠️ WhatsApp also experienced outages earlier today.

🔹Apple's iMessage 📱and FaceTime were down for a 30 〽️ minute period and is now restored. Google searches for "iMessage not working" spiked around noon.

🔹Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T customers started reporting disruptions around 1200 ET. Reports on Down Detector may be exaggerated for cellular providers as there is a possibility of iPhone users facing disruptions, reporting their cellular provider as down.

🔹German 🇩🇪 utility Uniper, today, reported a 4.8 billion euros ($4.78 billion) loss 📉 in the first 9 months of 2022, resulting in the loss of more than half of the company's registered share capital.

🔹Sanctions on Russian gas have pushed Uniper to purchase gas replacement at significantly higher market prices and accumulate losses.

🔹Uniper is shutting half the office space in its HQ & lowering 🌡 temperatures 🥶 in areas remaining open to save gas.

Video courtesy WION.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 Electricity 🔌 provider Uniper 🇩🇪 to be nationalised and bailed out.

💠 Uniper increasing debt 📈 & low levels in Rhine river affect hydro-power plants / commodity transport 🚢.

💠 Uniper seeks gov't bailout as sanctions on Russia 🇷🇺 result in higher gas prices.

💠 Uniper reducing storage volumes 📉 to maintain liquidity.

💠 Uniper began tapping into ⛄️winter gas storage to meet customer demand.

💠 German 🇩🇪 gov't attempted to pass new gas tax 💰to help Uniper.

🔹Russian 🇷🇺 energy major Gazprom announced that it will pay record dividends to shareholders. Its board had recommended a dividend payout to shareholders after bumper profits 📈 despite sanctions. The total volume of dividend paid out will exceed 1 trillion rubles (around $20 billion).

🔹Gazprom has begun operational tests on the Kovykta natural gas field 🏭 in eastern Siberia, bringing Russia a step closer to boosting energy exports to China 🇨🇳.

🔹Deliveries of Russian gas to Europe, transiting Ukraine 🇺🇦 continue at the same volumes of 42.4 mln cubic meters.

Video courtesy Sean Poo.

Recently reported on this channel:

💠Hungary 🇭🇺 has agreed with Gazprom to re-route gas transit.

💠Gazprom 🇷🇺 to finalize deals to develop projects in Iran.

💠 NordStream 1 & 2 pipeline 🧨 sabotage video report.

💠 Gazprom move payments for gas exports to China 🇨🇳 away from USD/Euros.

💠 Sanctions affect Gazprom's turbine ⚙️ maintenance resulting in Nord Stream 1 shut down.

🔹 Saudi Arabia's 🇸🇦 energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman warned nations' that use of emergency oil reserves to manipulate prices, may result in more pain for energy markets in the event of future 🛢 shortages.

🔹 US 🇺🇸 President Biden released 180 million barrels of oil since April, with another release from the SPR of 14 million barrels announced this month. The SPR is at its lowest levels of oil since 📉1984. The U.S. has only a 25 day supply in it's diesel inventory.

Recently reported on this channel:

💠 US 🇺🇸 diesel supplies ⛽️ remain at the lowest seasonal level for this time of year.

💠 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.

🔹BASF 🇩🇪, the largest chemical producer 🏭 in the world announces cost saving plans & “permanent” downsizing in Europe. 🇪🇺 Operations in Europe face a triple burden of sluggish growth, high energy costs 📈 & over-regulation. Plans expansion of operations in China 🇨🇳.

🔹In Jan-Sept 2022, natural gas costs at BASF's European sites were 2.2 billion euros higher than a year earlier. Q3 results in Germany came at an operating loss 📉 of 130 million euros. In contrast BASF's sales in China 🇨🇳 rose 5.8%. BASF expands to 🏗 Zhanjiang, China.

Video courtesy GlobaLink.

Last reported on this channel:

💠 BASF face shipping 🚢 logistics setback due to low water levels in the Rhine river.

💠 Ammonia fertilizer & chemical 🏭 plants shut down across Europe (October post).

💠 Fertilizer industries shutting down in 🇪🇺 Europe for the month of September & August.

💠 Companies operating for over 100 years shut down in Germany 🇩🇪.

💠 Steel 🏭 manufacturers shut down across Europe.

🔹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.