Proshares Ultrashort Bloomberg Natural Gas (kold) ETF News

The Russian invasion has shut down car factories, hit supplies for the steel industry and severed transportation routes. Commodity prices are soaring, including for sunflower oil, natural gas and wheat. The two countries combined account for 80% of the world’s sunflower oil.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world’s largest economies have not shied away from expressing their disapproval by imposing sanctions on them. One of the sanctions is that Russian banks are removed from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT). Following lengthy deliberations, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom finally agreed on Saturday to cut some Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system. SWIFT is a Belgian messaging service that connects over 11,000 financial institutions around the world when they transfer money. It does not really keep or transmit funds, but it does enable banks and other financial institutions to alert one another of pending transactions. It notifies users when payments are sent and received. Implications of unplugging Russia from SWIFT Blocking Russian banks from using SWIFT would limit the country’s capacity to undertake foreign financial transactions, forcing importers, exporters, and banks to find alternative means to communicate payment instructions. “Cutting some commercial banks from SWIFT will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in announcing the measures in Brussels.

Saudi Aramco has discovered natural gas fields in four regions of the kingdom, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in a statement Sunday.

We have been told that intermittent electricity from wind and solar, perhaps along with hydroelectric generation (hydro), can be the basis of a green economy. Things are increasingly not working out as planned, however. Natural gas or coal used for balancing the intermittent output of renewables is increasingly high-priced or not available. It is becoming clear that modelers who encouraged the view that a smooth transition to wind, solar, and hydro is possible have missed some important points. Let’s look at some of the issues: [1] It is…

Russian soldiers and armoured vehicles seen in Kharkiv, while natural gas pipeline burns

There is a glaring carve-out in President Joe Biden''s sanctions against Russia: Oil and natural gas from that country will continue to flow freely to the rest of the world and…

Saudi Aramco has discovered natural gas fields in four regions of the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday, citing Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. The fields were found in the central area of the kingdom, in the Empty Quarter desert, near its northern border and in the eastern region, he said, according to the state news agency. Saudi Arabia wants to increase gas production and boost the share of natural gas in its energy mix, replacing crude and fuel oil, to meet growing electricity consumption and to make more crude available for export. Saudi Aramco in talks on more investments in China The minister said an unspecified number of fields were discovered and he mentioned five by name, without indicating in the SPA report if these were all the reservoirs that has been found. The fields he mentioned are Shadoon, in the central region, Shehab and Shurfa, in the Empty Quarter, in the southeastern region, Umm Khansar, near the northern border with Iraq, and Samna, in the eastern region.

US and European officials made clear they still were working on implementation of the sanctions, and said they would take care not to impact European purchases of Russian natural gas.

With the latest events unfolding in Ukraine, the topic of natural gas dependence and its implications has once again taken center stage. Natural gas is the least polluting fossil fuel, which has made it a preferred “bridge” to net zero. The dependence element, however, has cast a shadow over the future of gas, and alternatives are being actively—if not desperately—sought. One of the most talked-about among these alternatives is hydrogen—an energy carrier rather than a fuel—but an element so versatile it can be…

After consistently refusing to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Saturday that his country will send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine, Axios reports . According to Politico Europe , Scholz said the Russian invasion "marks a turning point" that "threatens our entire post-war order" and that "it is our duty to do our utmost to support Ukraine in defending itself." Breaking: German government just decided to deliver 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 "Stinger" surface-to-air missiles from Bundeswehr stocks to Ukraine to support the country against Russian attack. "The weapons will be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible," spox said. — Hans von der Burchard (@vonderburchard) February 26, 2022 Germany also changed its position on sanctions. After initially opposing any move to bar Russia from the international financial intermediary Swift , Germany said it supported finding a "targeted and functional" way to boot Russia that would "limit collateral damage," Bloomberg reported .

Germany will send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger missiles to Ukraine, marking a complete reversal in Berlin''s restrictive arms export policy, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced Saturday. Why it matters: Germany has for months come under intense criticism for its response to Russia''s aggression toward Ukraine. The government said its "historical responsibilities" prevented it from shipping arms to conflict zones, and had previously blocked other NATO allies from transferring German-origin weapons to Ukraine. What they''re saying: "The Russian attack marks a turning point. It is our duty to do our best to help Ukraine defend against the invading army of Putin . That''s why we''re supplying 1000 anti-tank weapons and 500 stinger missiles to our friends in the Ukraine," Scholz tweeted. Germany will also lift its ban on other countries exporting German-origin weapons, allowing the Netherlands to transfer 400 rocket-propelled grenade launchers to Ukraine. The big picture: Germany is the largest economy and most powerful country in the European Union, making its voice and policy positions critical to the effectiveness of the West''s response to Russia''s invasion.

BRUSSELS: The EU has agreed to freeze European assets linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over their decision to invade Ukraine, EU officials said on Friday (Saturday in Manila). "We are hitting Putin''s system where it has to be hit, not only economically and financially, but also at the heart of its power," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said as she arrived for a meeting in Brussels with EU counterparts. That is why "we now list also the president, Mr Putin, and foreign minister Lavrov" to a packet of fresh sanctions agreed by EU leaders overnight, she said. The EU foreign ministers were to formally approve the sanctions, described as the harshest ever imposed by the bloc. They hammer Russia''s financial, energy and transport sectors, curb the ability of Russians to keep large amounts of cash in EU banks, and greatly expand the number of Russians on the EU''s list of individuals barred from entering the bloc''s 27 countries and freezing any EU assets.

LONDON (Reuters) – The Ukrainian government has instructed power stations to switch over to natural gas to preserve strategic coal reserves, the CEO of DTEK said on Saturday.

Luongo: Putin Ushers In The New Geopolitical Game Board Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ''n Guns blog, Up until February 23rd, 2022, the powerful countries of the world played a very rarified game. Too many people try to analyze geopolitics like it is a game of chess. Move, counter-move. Push a pawn? Threaten a knight, that type of thing. It’s easy to understand and makes for good copy. In the past I’ve tried to liken it to a multi-player version of Go , with anywhere from four to 6 different colored stones on the board trying to take territory. It was a better metaphor but nearly impossible to describe adequately. In fact, at times, it was exhausting. The reality is that neither of these metaphors are explanatory. Because the only accurate model for geopolitics is actually Calvinball. You know that game. That’s the one from Calvin & Hobbes . Contrary to your memory of the legendary comic strip, there were rules to Calvinball that went something like this. Calvin got to make the rules up as he went along.

The world is trying to balance sustainability with surging demand for resources (oil, natural gas, metals, and more). Top experts discuss the impact on the investing landscape.