Business News

ExxonMobil said on Tuesday that it would suspend operations on a multibillion-dollar oil and gas project in Russia and suspend any new investment in the country.

The Sakhalin-1 project, a large oil and gas company on Sakhalin Island in far eastern Russia, is one of the country’s largest single foreign direct investments.

Exxon said it would launch a “carefully managed” exit from Sakhalin-1, the company said in a press release.

RUSSIA INVASES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES

ExxonMobil is headquartered in Irving, Texas. (iStock / iStock)

“As an operator of Sakhalin-1, we have an obligation to ensure the safety of people, the environment and the integrity of operations,” the company said. “Our role as an operator goes beyond capital investment. The process of terminating operations will need to be carefully managed and closely coordinated with partners to ensure that it is carried out safely.”

The American oil giant currently owns a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project, together with the Japanese consortium SODECO, Indian ONGC Videsh Ltd. and two subsidiaries of Russian state oil producer Rosneft. Sakhalin-1 has an export capacity of 6.2 million tons per year, Politico reported.

“Given the current situation, ExxonMobil will not invest in new developments in Russia,” the company added.

TIMES SQUARE BILLBOARD CALLS BIDEN TO REJECT RUSSIAN OIL AGAINST WAR WITH UKRAINE

The company did not provide a schedule for when it plans to stop production. Energy companies are under greater pressure to withdraw or close down in Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Britain’s BP PLC, Shell and Norway’s Equinor ASA have previously said they plan to abandon their investments in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, February 1, 2022 (Associated Press / AP Newsroom)

Exxon has already begun removing US nationals from Russia, Reuters reported earlier this week. The company hired more than 1,000 people across Russia last year.

YELEN SAYS G7 TO INCREASE FINANCIAL PRESSURE ON RUSSIA FOR “BRUTAL INVASION” IN UKRAINE

“ExxonMobil supports the people of Ukraine as they seek to defend their freedom and define their own future as a nation,” the company said. “We condemn Russia’s military actions, which violate Ukraine’s territorial integrity and threaten its people.”

A Polish border guard helps refugees from Ukraine when they arrive in Poland at the Korchova border checkpoint, February 26, 2022. (Associated Press / AP Newsroom)

In a press release, Exxon added that it was “saddened” by the loss of innocent lives during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The company said it supported a “strong international response” to the conflict.

Exxon has been managing Sakhalin’s facilities since production began in 2005. The company has been developing its Russian oil and gas fields since 1995.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS

Exxon is also developing plans to add a liquefied natural gas export terminal to the site, Reuters reported.

Jung Zhu Ji Kim, founder of the South Korean gaming company Nexon, has died at the age of 54.

On Tuesday, the Nexon holding company NXC issued a statement: “With deep sadness, Nexon mourns the unexpected death of its beloved founder, Jungju Jay Kim, who died in February.

His sudden death came as a big shock to the gaming industry in South Korea, which sees Kim as an icon and a pioneer. The company did not reveal the cause of death. According to press releasesKim has been treated for depression and his condition appears to have worsened. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Kim, who founded Nexon in 1994, pioneered free play space for computers and video games and launched the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) in 1996. Her popular titles include The Kingdom of the Winds, MapleStory, KartRider, Mabinogi and Dungeon & Fighter.

Kim stepped down as CEO of NXC after working for 16 years and handed over his position to JaeKyo Lee last year. Kim was considering selling his majority stake at NXC worth about $ 9 billion in 2019, but withdrew the sale because it could not find a suitable buyer.

Nexon, one of the world’s largest gaming companies, moved its headquarters from Seoul to Tokyo in 2005 and went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2011, raising more than $ 1 billion in the largest initial public offering for year in Japan.

“It is difficult to express the tragedy of the loss of our friend and mentor Jay Kim, a man who had an immeasurably positive impact on the world,” Nexon CEO and President Owen Mahoney said in a statement. “As a founder and visionary, Jay encouraged people around him to ignore skeptics and trust their creative instincts. He will be greatly missed by his family Nexon and many friends. ”

According to ForbesKim, South Korea’s third richest man by May 2021, has promised to donate $ 93 million to startups and children’s hospitals in 2018.

NXC diversified its crypto business by investing in South Korea’s first cryptocurrency exchange, Korbit, in 2017. The company has more than 45 live games in more than 190 countries.

Jeep, the iconic American brand owned by Stellantis, has revealed the first photos of its upcoming electric SUV. The company did not share any other details or even the name of the vehicle, but confirmed that the new EV will be launched in 2023.

Jeep is slower to adopt electrification than many of its competitors. The carmaker has released plug-in hybrid versions of its Wrangler and Grand Cherokee SUVs and is planning an off-road version of the Grand Cherokee, Trailhawk, which is also available with a hybrid engine.

But the unnamed SUV, due out next year, will be Jeep’s first all-electric battery-powered car. The carmaker recently announced that it will release zero-emission versions of all its vehicles by 2025, along with hybrid variants.

The new Jeep EV will be included in last year’s comprehensive plan of Stellantis, the multinational conglomerate that formed last year when Fiat Chrysler merged with France’s PSA Group to electrify the range of most of its brands. This includes EV versions of the Ram 1500 pickup and the Dodge electric muscle car.

On Tuesday, Stellantis also annoyed the upcoming Ram 1500 truck with images showing the car’s lighting settings. The image seems to be just a design sketch, leaving open the possibility that Ram has not yet determined the final shape of his upcoming electric truck. Ram is also making an electric delivery van ProMaster, which will be included in Amazon’s fleet from 2023.

Both the Jeep EV and the Ram 1500 EV are likely to use Stellantis’ STLA platform, which is one of four platforms used by the carmaker for the upcoming range of electric vehicles.

As noted by Street showDaniel Golson, Stellantis has in fact left in some of the car’s design outlines a teaser image that shows more of the truck than the carmaker’s marketing team would probably prefer.

Updated on March 1 3:47 PM ET: Updated to include a tweet from Daniel Golson.

Get the Insider app

Custom feed, summary mode and ad-free experience.

Download the application

Two crossed lines that form an “X”. Specifies how to close an interaction or reject a notification.

• Most international shipping is controlled by only three cooperative alliances.
• The White House says consolidation has led to higher freight tariffs that boost inflation.
• A new federal initiative will use antitrust laws to promote competition in shipping.

Expensive shipping costs are the target of a new initiative announced by the White House on Monday, which ordered the Justice Department to use antitrust laws to make the largest companies in the industry more competitive with each other.

Approximately 80% of all global shipping capacity – and 95% of east-west trade – is controlled by three alliances that allow freight companies to coordinate tariffs and schedules.

This consolidation largely went under the main radar until the pandemic completely disrupted the global supply chain. Ocean carriers have responded to increased demand and reduced supply by raising tariffs on freight between Asia and the United States by more than 1,000 percent.

As transportation costs rise, consumer prices are also rising, and White House experts estimate that shipping will add a full percentage point to inflation next year.

And it’s not just consumers who remain paying more – exporters are complaining that large companies are not shipping American products to foreign markets.

Some carriers apparently find it more cost-effective to ship empty containers back to Asia for refueling instead of transporting US agricultural goods to other ports.

These rising prices were good for shipping companies’ profit margins, rising to 56% in the third quarter of 2021, from 3.7% in 2019.

For President Biden, such hefty profits in such a low-margin historical business are evidence of anti-competitive practices. He plans to address the issue during a speech on the state of the Union on Tuesday night.

Under the new initiative, a regulatory agency known as the Federal Maritime Commission will coordinate with the Department of Justice to identify and prosecute violations under the Shipping and Basic Antitrust Act, the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act.

“Competition in the maritime industry is an integral part of lowering prices, improving the quality of services and strengthening the sustainability of the supply chain,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Violators of the law need to know that the Ministry of Justice will provide the Federal Maritime Commission with all the necessary support for litigation, as it is pursuing its mission to promote competition in ocean shipping.

This increased control of the shipping industry follows weeks of political announcements accusing corporate greed of worsening inflation. Other sectors that fall under the microscope include beef producers and oil companies.

Despite their lowest levels in the last minutes of trading, US stocks closed lower on Tuesday after Russia strengthened intensifies its invasion of Ukraine, pushing oil prices above $ 100 a barrel and lowering government bond yields.

Dow Jones decreased by 1.8%and the S&P 500 decreased by 1.6%and Nasdaq decreased by 1.6%.

Looking at the preliminary closing figures, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 597.65 to 33,294.95. The S&P 500 fell 67.68 to 4,306.26. Nasdaq withdrew 218.94 to 13,532.46.

Showing the broad weakness that marked trade, 10 of the 11 industrial sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the red, led by a 3.7% decline in financial performance. Energy was the only stubborn one, with higher oil prices sparking a new rally in the sector.

Yields on 10-year bonds fell 11 basis points to 1.73%. The 2-year yield withdrew by about 8 basis points to 1.35%.

Crude oil rose 8.7 percent to $ 104.39 a barrel, gold rose 2.4 percent to $ 1947 an ounce; wheat futures rose 5.4% to 984 cents a bushel.

Military action in Ukraine and a number of economic sanctions against Russia are on the brink of investors. In his note on the stock market positioning model, Citi analyst Chris Montagu wrote: “Investors are becoming less short in most markets … US futures positioning has expanded and unilaterally short for the Nasdaq 100 and lower for the Nasdaq 100. S&P 500.

As the Russia-Ukraine conflict looms over the world economy and threatens to thwart the US economic recovery, traders have dropped expectations of raising interest rates by 50 basis points at the Fed’s March 15-16 meeting. The probability of rising by 25 bps now stands at 92% against 58.6% a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. One week ago, the probability of a 50 bps rise was 41%; is now at 0.

The report on jobs in February, due to be published on Friday, may change that. “While most now expect the Fed to raise interest rates by just 25 basis points next month, a hotter-than-expected Friday job report could increase the chances of moving by 50 basis points,” said Anthony Saglimbene, global market strategist at Ameriprise. Bloomberg.

Russia has previously retaliated against Western sanctions; The Moscow Stock Exchange is still closed

Oil has surpassed the $ 100 threshold, and Asian stocks sold out on Wednesday after Russia stepped up attacks on Ukraine’s largest cities and adopted more aggressive tactics.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 4.4 percent to a seven-year high of $ 109.59 a barrel at the start of Asian trade, while the US marker West Texas Intermediate rose 4.7 percent to $ 108.29.

The latest oil gains, which have left Brent nearly 16 percent higher since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion, came as Russia stepped up its bombing of Ukraine’s largest cities.

Sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries seek to avoid the energy sector, but nevertheless fuel instability in global markets due to fears of supply disruptions. But US energy group ExxonMobil said on Tuesday it would leave Russian oil and gas operations, marking the latest corporate exit in response to the invasion.

Joe Biden has also come under increasing pressure to ban Russian oil imports, with Republicans and Democrats calling on the US president to sever energy ties with the Kremlin. In a speech on the state of the Union on Tuesday, Biden voiced support for sanctions against Russia, but stressed that price control was his “highest priority”.

“The Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to continue to dominate markets for the foreseeable future,” said Robert Carnell, head of Asia-Pacific research at ING. “Yesterday’s announcement that Russia will not pay coupons to foreign holders on its national debt should push investors even further to safe havens.

In Asian markets, the stock sold off, driven by a 1.7% drop for the Japanese benchmark Topix. China’s CSI 300 index of shares registered in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.6%.

The decline followed a sharp decline on Wall Street, where both the S&P 500 and the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6%. Futures hit the S&P 500 up 0.1 percent on Wednesday, while the Euro Stoxx 50 was set to fall 0.1 percent after ending a 2.4 percent down on Tuesday.

In government bond markets, the yield on US bonds stabilized after a rally on Tuesday as investors sought refuge to mitigate the fall in stock prices. Yields on 10-year US government securities rose 0.03 percentage points to 1.7565 after falling nearly 0.1 percentage points in the previous session.

In foreign currencies, the ruble has stabilized at around 108 against the dollar after a criminal crash this week, leaving it almost 30% lower since the invasion began.

Client hands over banknotes and coins in Russian rubles to a seller at a market in Omsk, Russia, February 18, 2022. REUTERS / Alexey Malgavko

NEW YORK, March 1 – Roll weakened by more than $ 100 against trade in Moscow and hit a record low of 117 in other markets on Tuesday, threatening the living standards of ordinary Russians as the country is hit by harsh Western sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine.

The currency found some support after Russian authorities ordered exporting companies, including some of the world’s largest energy producers from Gazprom to Rosneft, to sell 80% of their foreign exchange earnings to the market because of the central bank’s own ability. to intervene in foreign exchange markets were limited.

Later in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree banning the export of cash in foreign currency in excess of $ 10,000 worth as of March 2, according to a Kremlin statement.

But even a sharp fall of the session below $ 90 per dollar left the ruble well below the $ 75 it traded before Russia recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and sent troops to its neighboring country last week.

The roll ended lower by 6.5% to 101.23 against the dollar in trade in Moscow and lost 5.8% to 112.49 against the euro.

After the closure of Moscow, the ruble weakened to as much as 117 per dollar and traded close to 105 in late trading in New York.

“By nature, this is a sign of breaking the link between what is happening in Russia and what is happening abroad,” said Rachel Ziemba, founder of Ziemba Insights in New York.

“After all, many foreign actors can’t actually be involved in buying Russian assets right now.”

Large Russian banks have been excluded from the international payment system SWIFT.

The ruble has fallen since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at one point losing a third of its value in trade in Moscow, prompting the central bank to more than double interest rates to 20% and take a number of other emergency measures. Read more

Moscow called its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” it said was not intended to occupy territory but to destroy the military capabilities of its southern neighbor and capture dangerous nationalists.

SHARES ABROAD FALL

Trading in shares on the Moscow Stock Exchange was suspended for a second day after sharp sell-offs hit the market in mid-February.

Russia said on Tuesday it was imposing temporary restrictions on foreigners wishing to exit Russian assets and ordered it to spend up to $ 10 billion from its black-day fund to buy shares in Russian companies. Read more

But the ETF on Russian stocks traded in the United States fell 24% on Tuesday to a combined 47% drop in two days and set a record low to close while London-based iShares MSCI Russia ETF (CSRU.L) lost a third. of its value on Tuesday and decreased by 83% since mid-February.

“The price is the great arbiter, and the price falling the way it is tells you that at least right now the market is a little skeptical about this demand,” said Samir Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

“If this kind of statement or demonstration of force were credible, they obviously wouldn’t fall so fast.

The depository receipts of the dominant state lender Sberbank in London fell 80% on Tuesday.

VIOLATED ANIMAL STANDARD

A weak ruble will lower Russia’s standard of living and inflate already high inflation, while Western sanctions are expected to lead to a shortage of basic necessities that people in Russia are used to, such as cars.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF), a trading group representing major banks, has warned that Russia is also likely to fail to pay off its foreign debts and that its economy will double-digit this year.

Russia’s central bank and finance ministry have not responded to a Reuters request for comment on the possibility of default.

Inflation will jump in the short term, but may slow in the long term as people in Russia switch to a money-saving regime, said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko-Invest.

Additional reports by Karin Stroheker, Anisha Sirkar, Bansari Maur Kamdar and Rodrigo Campos; Edited by Kirsten Donovan, Nick McPhee, Mark Heinrich and Sandra Mahler

Our standards: ‘ principles of trust.

And if the conflict continues, it could threaten the harvest of summer wheat, which flows into bread, pasta and packaged food for a huge number of people, especially in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Food prices have already skyrocketed due to disruptions in the global supply chain, increasing the risk of social unrest in poorer countries.

On Tuesday, global shipping giant Maersk announced it would temporarily suspend all shipments to and from Russia by ocean, air and rail, except for food and medicine. Ocean Network Express, Hapag-Lloyd and MSC, the world’s other major ocean carriers, have announced similar shutdowns.

Russia accounts for about a fifth of the world’s natural gas trade, and Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of wheat, barley, corn and fertilizers.

“The war is just making the global commodity situation worse,” said Christopher F. Graham, a White and Williams partner.

Jennifer McCaune, head of global economics at Capital Economics, said the global economy seems relatively isolated from the conflict. But she said the shortage of materials such as palladium and xenon used in semiconductors and cars could increase the current difficulties for these industries. The shortage of semiconductors has stopped production in car factories and other facilities, causing prices to rise and weighing on sales.

“This could add to the shortage we are already seeing, exacerbate this shortage and ultimately cause further damage to global growth,” she said.

International companies are also trying to comply with the broad financial sanctions and export controls imposed by Europe, the United States and a number of other countries that have restricted the flow of goods and money into and out of Russia.