Biden threatens Putin " If . . . . no longer a Nord Stream 2 . . bring end to it"

[nsdp + 449]

3 hours ago, bobo88 said:

You say, "We don't mfg cheap goods anymore"

We don't manufacture much of anything anymore.

Kind of difficult to export John Deere tractors and heavy duty trucks to U.S. by cargo plane profitably .

I'm talking  .  .  .  .  ah .  .  .  .  everything else. 

.  .  .  .  and most automobiles are mfg in Mexico and German autos parts are mfg in Germany and only "assembled" in the U.S.

Germany sells the parts to U.S. incorporated subsidiary at very high price so as to not show a profit and thus do not pay any U.S. income taxes.

Go down to the U.S. border and watch train load after train load of cars and trucks  heading north.

Are you OK with all that ?

No because  John Deere exports its biggest tractors on container ships as does JICase/Steyger.  Where in the world can you get a roller cone drill bit that can survive 7000 kpa H2S much less 14,000kpa other than Hughes Tool company?  You have obviously never heard of Caterpillar or Terex.  Komatsu is a competitor except for the heavy mining stuff.  How about Schlumberger or Varco or Dresser?   Halliburton or Red Adair Inc. or Boots and Coots or International Well Control.or Gray Tool Co or Cameron Iron Works?  Name another company that  can manufacture and WARRANTY a 14000kpa blowout preventer.   How about North American Forge Masters.

Now let's talk oil field and hydraulic  fracturing. Spain is the only nation with forges that can duplicate Cameron Iron Works  or North American ForgeMasters for fracking pumps.  Try to match Dresser. Come to Houston  May 2-5 and see all the equipment  that you can't buy from any one else. https://2022.otcnet.org/

Your commenting on an oil patch site and you don't know who the BIG HITTERS are.

Edited February 21, 2022 by nsdp

[notsonice + 1,243]

9 hours ago, Tomasz said:

By Theo Normanton in Moscow February 17, 2022

US ownership of Russian equities rose in 2021, in spite of mounting political tensions between the two countries. At end of the year, 58% of the total international holdings in Russian equities belonged to American funds, compared with 53% the previous year and just 41% in 2013.

Meanwhile, the disclosed total value of foreign investment in Russian equities is also increasing. International funds held $86.2bn in Russian equities in 4Q21, up from $65.6bn the previous year, according to data from ThomsonONE. The actual value could be about three times higher according to some estimates.

Foreign investment in Russia is increasingly coming under the spotlight as tensions mount over Ukraine and both sides consider deterrence options. This growing appetite for Russian securities among American investors suggests that the market is more dovish on the threat of conflict than was previously considered.

The data also illustrate the extent to which American and Russian markets are bound up with one another in an interconnected global economy. Potential sanctions would risk creating a so-called “Boomerang Effect”, damaging the interests of foreign investors – including US funds that manage the pensions of average Americans – as well as the Russian economy.

 

Russian equities

Since the marketisation of Russia’s economy in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, the country has been attracting ever greater flows of foreign capital. US money represents the single largest international source of investment for Russia, with American businesses alone responsible for $100bn of investment in the country, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham).

The report by AmCham found that “Official statistics underestimate the actual level of economic relations between Russia and the US”, with the figures obtained by the survey nine times higher than the official value of American investment.

Last year saw a record-high sum of American money in Russian equities, in a sign that the country is now being treated as a serious long-term investment opportunity by foreign investors.

“Two factors coincided to make last year such a successful one,” explained Denis Zabolotnev, head of Russian & CIS Sales Coverage at London-based brokerage Sova Capital. “Firstly, we spent the whole year anticipating the end of lockdowns and the normalisation of the economy, which was positive for commodities and banks. And the second factor was expectations of the reduction of liquidity support from the Fed. As a result, investors focused on value investments – shares which are relatively cheap, and defensive stocks, which are generally bought during late cycles. Russian shares fit perfectly into this trend. They’ve always been quite affordable, and were even more so last year due to the fact that energy prices had already grown and companies showed strong earnings the previous year, so prices were unable to increase as strongly. This stimulated a new inflow of capital.”

Russian financial stocks are among the more popular securities held by American investors. At least 21.8% of equities issued by online financial services group TCS are owned by Americans, who represent the single largest group of investors in the company, according to data from Bloomberg.

Moscow Exchange (MOEX) stock is also in line with this trend, with about 60% of the free float of the company owned by US institutions, according to data on its website.

With even state-owned companies now paying out dividends as high as 10-11%, Russian stocks offer very lucrative yields for those with the nerve to stick it out through the market’s ups and downs.

“It’s very difficult to find blue chips with such competitive dividend yields. These companies are affordable, fast-growing (when you take into account what is going on with energy prices), and pay high dividends. So if we discount the geopolitical risks, it’s a no-brainer: just buy, buy, buy,” said Zabolotnev.

Russia’s booming tech stocks are also a hit with US investors. 28.6% of shares in online retail platform OZON are held by American investors, according to Bloomberg, while telecom stocks like MTS are also a major draw for US money.

Russia’s signature commodity and metallurgy stocks are also seeing rising demand from the US, with 16.4% of equities in Polymetal International held by American investors, compared with just 5% held by Russians, according to figures from Bloomberg. Over a quarter of the reported shares in aluminium giant RUSAL are also held by investors from North America.

These stocks did particularly well towards the end of 2021 during the commodity market rally.

“At the end of the year, it probably came down to inflation”, explained Zabolotnev. “Russian shares are very strongly tied to producers of commodities – gas, oil and metals. So these companies will win from inflation when there’s an increase in energy prices. Russian stocks can act as a sort of hedge.”

Russia also remained a darling for managers of Global Emerging Markets (GEM) funds throughout 2021. Indeed, Russia was the most popular market for such funds in December, boasting the most overweight (OW) investors and the fewest underweight (UW) of any major market. The net figure for OW-UW funds stood at +15 in December, according to research by JP Morgan. And with Russian stocks nearing all-time highs on a 12-month forward dividend yield basis and reporting record price/earnings ratios relative to global equities, there is no prospect of Russia falling off the list of favoured markets any time soon.

 

(In)Direct Investment

The US is not just the largest investor in Russian public equities; it’s also the biggest player in strategic investment. While official figures from the CBR list Cyprus as the greatest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Russia, the first ever estimate of Russian FDI based on Ultimate Investing Country (UIC) published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2017, revealed that the USA is the single largest investor in the Russian economy.

American direct investment in Russia can come in the form of existing companies expanding into Russia, acquiring international peers, obtaining a 10% or greater stake in a Russian firm, or borrowing money in Russia to expand their own operations.

After a bearish few weeks, the view from the Russian market is now one of tentative optimism. “I think interest will return now,” affirmed Zabolotnev. “The earlier market correction gives long-term investors the opportunity to enter the market at more competitive prices. Of course, people are still being cautious, because it’s not entirely clear how the situation will continue to develop. But some investors are certainly returning: we have seen decent demand from international investors for fintech company Tinkoff, oil company Lukoil and diamond producer Alrosa.”

Diversification, for commodities exporters, is a challenging business. Yet the wide-ranging investment which Russia is continuing to attract from foreign players – including from the US – indicates that it is managing this with no small degree of success.

More importantly, though, it shows that the Russian economy is more integrated with global markets than many in the West might think. And with American investment in Russia showing no signs of slowing, it is perhaps time for both sides to dial down the rhetoric on mutually damaging sanctions and consider how to safeguard their own interests as well as those of the world.

https://www.intellinews.com/american-investment-in-russian-equities-increased-in-2021-235318/?fbclid=IwAR0jFjRR7qLLSPQLJ_UnzOcNWvAOcIBvKjdrsqNfbYxYcoE_w8oMnM4Iz8Q

who cares ....the Total market value of the US stock markets are 53 Trillion......1,000 times the US investment in Russia.... 

You call that integrated????  With Sanctions Russia will crash and burn....Ruble will be less than 200 to the dollar in a week with sanctions. US investments in Russia like a pimple on a bulls ass. Good luck to Russia in the Future...No One will invest in Russia...except Idiots.

Nordstream 2 is now dead thanks to Putin, must suck to own shares in Gazprom..........crashhhhhh

Updated: Feb 19, 2022, 02:39 MST•1min read

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Over the past six months Gazprom has delivered gas to Europe at the lowest levels it could according to its contracts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday.

 

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Over the past six months Gazprom has delivered gas to Europe at the lowest levels it could according to its contracts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday.

“What we’ve seen over the last six months is that Gazprom has delivered always at the lowest level,” she told the Munich Security Conference.

 

“They have to deliver by contract. They have contracts that say pay or deliver. So often they’ve chosen the payment instead of delivering gas, and the storage of Gazprom in our storage is at a 10-year low this year.”

 

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and John Chalmers)

Edited February 21, 2022 by notsonice

[surrept33 + 609]

So far the false flag shit stuff has been hilariously amateurish:

https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/russian-media-awash-with-seemingly-faked-videos-matching-warnings-of-false-flag-campaign-to-justify-invading-ukraine/articleshow/89709214.cms

 

[Rob Plant + 2,747]

On 2/19/2022 at 11:30 AM, kshithij Sharma said:

None of the EU NATO members will be able to survive any war with Russia.

Are you actually trying to be funny or are you serious?

The EU NATO countries have the ability to wipe Russia off the face of the planet.

[frankfurter + 562]

6 hours ago, notsonice said:

who cares ....the Total market value of the US stock markets are 53 Trillion......1,000 times the US investment in Russia.... 

You call that integrated????  With Sanctions Russia will crash and burn....Ruble will be less than 200 to the dollar in a week with sanctions. US investments in Russia like a pimple on a bulls ass. Good luck to Russia in the Future...No One will invest in Russia...except Idiots.

Nordstream 2 is now dead thanks to Putin, must suck to own shares in Gazprom..........crashhhhhh

Updated: Feb 19, 2022, 02:39 MST•1min read

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Over the past six months Gazprom has delivered gas to Europe at the lowest levels it could according to its contracts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday.

 

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Over the past six months Gazprom has delivered gas to Europe at the lowest levels it could according to its contracts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday.

“What we’ve seen over the last six months is that Gazprom has delivered always at the lowest level,” she told the Munich Security Conference.

 

“They have to deliver by contract. They have contracts that say pay or deliver. So often they’ve chosen the payment instead of delivering gas, and the storage of Gazprom in our storage is at a 10-year low this year.”

 

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and John Chalmers)

Deliver or pay?  This is weird.  Is Leyen confused with penalties?  I have seen take or pay, but never deliver or pay.  Any lawyers here to add objective comments?

 

[bobo88 + 58]

9 hours ago, nsdp said:

No because  John Deere exports its biggest tractors on container ships as does JICase/Steyger.  Where in the world can you get a roller cone drill bit that can survive 7000 kpa H2S much less 14,000kpa other than Hughes Tool company?  You have obviously never heard of Caterpillar or Terex.  Komatsu is a competitor except for the heavy mining stuff.  How about Schlumberger or Varco or Dresser?   Halliburton or Red Adair Inc. or Boots and Coots or International Well Control.or Gray Tool Co or Cameron Iron Works?  Name another company that  can manufacture and WARRANTY a 14000kpa blowout preventer.   How about North American Forge Masters.

Now let's talk oil field and hydraulic  fracturing. Spain is the only nation with forges that can duplicate Cameron Iron Works  or North American ForgeMasters for fracking pumps.  Try to match Dresser. Come to Houston  May 2-5 and see all the equipment  that you can't buy from any one else. https://2022.otcnet.org/

Your commenting on an oil patch site and you don't know who the BIG HITTERS are.

You say "Where in the world can you get a roller cone drill bit that can survive 7000 kpa H2S much less 14,000kpa other than Hughes Tool company? " 

I just bought one last week at the local Home Depot.

Get real.  You're the only person in the world that believes U.S. manufacturing is thriving.  

Cherry pick a few exceptions to back up your ridiculous statements.  

John Deere manufacturing in China is now bigger than their U.S.  mfg.  

How many mfg plants does China have in the U.S. ?

Read this article. It describes John Deere Chinese mfg.

The best part is this Chinese plant exports heavy equipment INCLUDING TO THE U.S. !

Combines, agricultural tractors, and engines are currently manufactured in China by John Deere. Agricultural tractors, combines, cotton pickers, and sugar cane harvesters are all manufactured by CNH Industrial. Agricultural tractors, harvesting machinery, diesel engines, and grain storage equipment are all made by AGCO. Claas and Kubota are two more prominent international manufacturers with factories in China.

The Big Three companies not only sell their whole product lines to China, but they also operate large manufacturing facilities there. A large portion of that output is destined for Chinese farmers. However, some of the total items Chinese – Made are exported to other parts of the world, including North America.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by bobo88

[bobo88 + 58]

9 hours ago, surrept33 said:

So far the false flag shit stuff has been hilariously amateurish:

https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/russian-media-awash-with-seemingly-faked-videos-matching-warnings-of-false-flag-campaign-to-justify-invading-ukraine/articleshow/89709214.cms

 

Yes amateurish.  Do you think Putin cares ?  He will use it to go in just the same.  If that is his end game.

Plausible deniability.

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by bobo88

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

21 hours ago, bobo88 said:

nsdp 

You need a geography lesson. In case you don't realize it Pearl Harbor is located in one of the United States.  They attacked us.  I don't know who this senator is but he was obviously wrong.  

UKRAINE IS NOT A NATO MEMBER

Europe (France, Germany, etc) does not care about Ukraine.  They are being forced to go along with Joe .  Heck, Germany won't even send defensive weapons.  Germany only sent 5000 helmets for the 200,000 Ukraine troops. LOL.

Germany signed Obama's "Coalition of the willing" for Syria, then refused to provide troops, supplies or funds. Willing to sign anything but do nothing.  

NATO is worthless. A dinosaur.

The U.S can not mfg anything anymore.  But they love to start a good war.

So Joe can feed his ego and play tough dude he will arm Ukraine and get at least another 14000 Ukrainians killed (Obama put Joe in charge of Ukraine . Joe let 14000 get killed, for what?)

China is watching U.S. , Europe , China , Ukraine to be totally consumed by what should be a little skirmish while they expand their "belt and road" and become THE Super Power.  

Nobody cares about Ukraine except Joe Biden and his political hacks (not security council)  in my opinion. 

Let's see how high Joe's death toll goes up during his second bout.  Sad. 

As Former Sec of Defense Gates said," Joe Video has been wrong on every International policy issue for the last 40 years." Have to add more years to that 40.

Hawaii was a US colony (as in, illegally annexed) back when. It only became a US state in 1959, giving Pearl Harbor the same status as Crimea. Before that, it was just one predatory Empire attacking another one over a piece of real estate they wanted to contest. Nothing unusual. The Japanese claim to Hawaii would've been just as arbitrary as an American one, in a de jure sense. Before annexation by US, Hawaii was a monarchy.

[bobo88 + 58]

4 minutes ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

Hawaii was a US colony (as in, illegally annexed) back when. It only became a US state in 1959, giving Pearl Harbor the same status as Crimea. Before that, it was just one predatory Empire attacking another one over a piece of real estate they wanted to contest. Nothing unusual. The Japanese claim to Hawaii would've been just as arbitrary as an American one, in a de jure sense. Before annexation by US, Hawaii was a monarchy.

LOL

[kshithij Sharma + 78]

9 hours ago, notsonice said:

who cares ....the Total market value of the US stock markets are 53 Trillion......1,000 times the US investment in Russia.... 

You call that integrated????  With Sanctions Russia will crash and burn....Ruble will be less than 200 to the dollar in a week with sanctions. US investments in Russia like a pimple on a bulls ass. Good luck to Russia in the Future...No One will invest in Russia...except Idiots.

Market value makes no sense. If you can't say where you got the money from, it means you don't have any money. The asset value makes no sense as there is no one capable of buying the $53 trillion worth of market stocks and hence that $53trillion can never be encashed

21 hours ago, bobo88 said:

You haven't seen 1/10 of it's capabilities yet.  Watch.

Cyber warfare is useless in real war. It can only be used to cripple the useless banking system which anyways uses fake money printed on paper and don't have any real value by itself. Cyber warfare can not cause any damage for physical systems and infrastructure in any manner. 

3 hours ago, Rob Plant said:

Are you actually trying to be funny or are you serious?

The EU NATO countries have the ability to wipe Russia off the face of the planet.

Lol! Which EU country has air defence system? Which EU country has enough oil and gas to fuel their war efforts? The only way EU NATO countries can defeat Russia is if all of them gang up together along with USA involvement. Even then, the entire EU NATO will be wiped out by Russia before Russia gets destroyed.

[Rob Plant + 2,747]

3 minutes ago, kshithij Sharma said:

Lol! Which EU country has air defence system? Which EU country has enough oil and gas to fuel their war efforts? The only way EU NATO countries can defeat Russia is if all of them gang up together along with USA involvement. Even then, the entire EU NATO will be wiped out by Russia before Russia gets destroyed.

Have you not heard of nuclear weapons?

Youre talking about conventional warfare!

Why would Russia attack even the UK when it has nuclear subs? If they launch at the same time its BOOM!

UK has air defence numpty

 

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

9 hours ago, notsonice said:

who cares ....the Total market value of the US stock markets are 53 Trillion......1,000 times the US investment in Russia.... 

You call that integrated????  With Sanctions Russia will crash and burn....Ruble will be less than 200 to the dollar in a week with sanctions. US investments in Russia like a pimple on a bulls ass. Good luck to Russia in the Future...No One will invest in Russia...except Idiots.

Nordstream 2 is now dead thanks to Putin, must suck to own shares in Gazprom..........crashhhhhh

Updated: Feb 19, 2022, 02:39 MST•1min read

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Over the past six months Gazprom has delivered gas to Europe at the lowest levels it could according to its contracts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday.

 

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) – Over the past six months Gazprom has delivered gas to Europe at the lowest levels it could according to its contracts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday.

“What we’ve seen over the last six months is that Gazprom has delivered always at the lowest level,” she told the Munich Security Conference.

 

“They have to deliver by contract. They have contracts that say pay or deliver. So often they’ve chosen the payment instead of delivering gas, and the storage of Gazprom in our storage is at a 10-year low this year.”

 

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and John Chalmers)

Will see about this. I think that your bluff is up, several times already. Novatek got delisted on Nasdaq ADR (downgraded to OTC pink sheets? Dunno, but I cannot buy it anymore) It pops up as a GDR in London, denominated in USD. Go ahead, try to confiscate those and see if any of them are the gold Basel dollars. This will hurt. BURN GREEN PAPER, BURN. Nothing burns like fake gold in the world of finance. Trust me. Here are is the actual US monetary supply. Notice anything happening around 2008?

Before that, the entire US monetary base (all the cash dollares simultaneously in existence, be it paper, coin or electronic) was about $800 bln. Chump change compared to $30+ bln stock market cap back when. Notably, less than 1:10, the maximally allowed fractional reservation rate of yore.

It is over 6 trillion now and raising fast, which means something else broke. All your stocks are now GameStock. Tell me should I invest in it? Now that there is no Robin Hood and Reddit groups on it, why is it still worth anything at all?

Now, obviously, that the size of monetary base is exactly what prevents the investors from cashing out and run. Like a run on a bank, which only got 1:10 of assets it claims to have (mostly as credit issued) You cannot cash out more dollar that exists... Unless... cryptocurrency! Which is why Uncle Sam happens so be lenient to that particular means of money laundering, so far.

Now, you and me, being such clever yearly investors in US assets that we obviously are for getting-rich-quick and quitting before it is too late are bound to notice a following obvious form of arbitrage (aka free money) What if, we manage to get some more debt issued at the going US rate of close to 0% and invest it all in Nasdaq stocks like GameStop? What could possibly go wrong with such a fine startup? After all, is the 0% interest rate is better than free, it is effectively negative inflation which is say -7% Given an aggregate 12%-ish annual growth of Nasdaq stocks, we're going to be making 12+7=19% annual return. I hope everybody on this forum is investing into GameStop with me and nsdp. Free money from Uncle Sam entirely legally is too much fun. It is obviously the perfect time to invest now that the US economy is booming? What do you mean, it does not? Who cares about the brick and mortar BS? It is chump change. Internet commerce, high finance (especially venture), modern post-industrial, service-oriented economy made out of services obviously distinct from flipping burgers including referential BigMacs nsdp can afford so much more often than Russians. About to undergo a totally awesome "energy transition" to being powered by the Chinese-made Li-Ion laptop cells. (ask the specialist on that, Jay) Soon, about to become breatharians (feeding on pure prana, which is some kind of funky Hindu crap which costs you nothing, takes no time and is better than Soylent, I swear. You won't even need to poop anymore)

Wish the old guy gets to see the bonfire which arrives when there is finally a stampede to the exit before his stroke arrives? See, we seem to be best friends here, but I don't know him too well. Mental health issues don't obviously affect life expectations in any obvious way. Except Ron. He's gonna live to 100+, because he only believes in wholesome things. nsdp obviously not so much, so I'd say his chances to see the day are up to how many of the American burgers he's actually been affording every day. Especially before they outlawed that "pink goo" stuff they used to make them out of.

Now, when the stamped does arrive, you are going to wish you lived in an economy the least exposed to the rick of toxic USD. Could I interest you in touring DPRK? They charge 2x the prices for everything from US citizens already, and it is still dirt cheap for everybody else. What's in for you? Specifically, the North Koreans do openly admit to eating puppies and will share the goodies with you. (got bigger image issues to worry about) They have legal crystal meth. Yes, everybody knows somebody who's in the labor camps. Their incarceration rate is huge, behind the USA and Turkmenistan only. (guess, who's got most people doing time in the world?) But, if you hook a Korean buddy up with a transfer to a Sibirian gulag, they'll be your friends for life. It is how you return to DPRK a made man. You can make enough in a Siberian gulag to spare enough cash for a real Chinese-made refrigerator, which you can sell to the members of the elite who can afford such luxuries and open a small business for yourself! It is actually a booming trade. Kim takes a cut of the proceeds, though. Now, if you think any of this is funny wait till you wake up in Futurama full of blackjack and hookers that US is going to turn into after the bigger GameStop event arrives. Don't say you haven't been warned about stopping trying to rape and pillage the rest of the world, repent and try to reach an amicable arrangement about paying back those you unduly hurt. My friend nsdp is apparently resentful of Russia on behalf of his daddy, (who was actually a real Nazi)  being traumatized by his lack of progress in invading Russia due to lack of infrastructure required. I am sorry, our roads do suck. On the other hand, the Nazis got off the hook quite easily. After all, even though they were obviously bastards, they were your bastards, Wessies. Proper white people, not like them Russian mongrels. Uncle Sam could use any help they could get to fight back the Commies, so nsdp's family ended up off the hook. Not paid a cent for 27 mln Soviet people they murdered. Probably did pay somewhat more for each of the 6 million Jews, who ended up having some friends in high places. Overall, got off the hook quite easily. Well, you know how it is. It sucks to be the last man standing in a team. Who is adopting Uncle Sam once he chokes? Granted, some of the unpaid crimes that they are going to be charged for are really not theirs, but came with the various assets they acquired from mergers and acquisition with the rest of the so-called "free world", like the Nazi, the British Imperial has-beens, and ultimately, the Catholic Church. (previously, the same organization as the Orthodox one, which you can have for free)

Go nsdp, stay with us some more! It's for your daddy, the Nazi Sr.

[notsonice + 1,243]

2 hours ago, kshithij Sharma said:

Market value makes no sense. If you can't say where you got the money from, it means you don't have any money. The asset value makes no sense as there is no one capable of buying the $53 trillion worth of market stocks and hence that $53trillion can never be encashed

Cyber warfare is useless in real war. It can only be used to cripple the useless banking system which anyways uses fake money printed on paper and don't have any real value by itself. Cyber warfare can not cause any damage for physical systems and infrastructure in any manner. 

Lol! Which EU country has air defence system? Which EU country has enough oil and gas to fuel their war efforts? The only way EU NATO countries can defeat Russia is if all of them gang up together along with USA involvement. Even then, the entire EU NATO will be wiped out by Russia before Russia gets destroyed.

Market value makes no sense. If you can't say where you got the money from, it means you don't have any money.???

What are you babbling about???? You must be one of Putins Trolls...Your statements are just BS babble.

Russia may occupy the Ukraine by force......However it will never again be allowed to do anything with the West. What has Russia gained??? Isolation so no one trades with it, including China. Must suck to be a supporter of Putin. He is destroying Russia

 

[notsonice + 1,243]

2 hours ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

Will see about this. I think that your bluff is up, several times already. Novatek got delisted on Nasdaq ADR (downgraded to OTC pink sheets? Dunno, but I cannot buy it anymore) It pops up as a GDR in London, denominated in USD. Go ahead, try to confiscate those and see if any of them are the gold Basel dollars. This will hurt. BURN GREEN PAPER, BURN. Nothing burns like fake gold in the world of finance. Trust me. Here are is the actual US monetary supply. Notice anything happening around 2008?

Before that, the entire US monetary base (all the cash dollares simultaneously in existence, be it paper, coin or electronic) was about $800 bln. Chump change compared to $30+ bln stock market cap back when. Notably, less than 1:10, the maximally allowed fractional reservation rate of yore.

It is over 6 trillion now and raising fast, which means something else broke. All your stocks are now GameStock. Tell me should I invest in it? Now that there is no Robin Hood and Reddit groups on it, why is it still worth anything at all?

Now, obviously, that the size of monetary base is exactly what prevents the investors from cashing out and run. Like a run on a bank, which only got 1:10 of assets it claims to have (mostly as credit issued) You cannot cash out more dollar that exists... Unless... cryptocurrency! Which is why Uncle Sam happens so be lenient to that particular means of money laundering, so far.

Now, you and me, being such clever yearly investors in US assets that we obviously are for getting-rich-quick and quitting before it is too late are bound to notice a following obvious form of arbitrage (aka free money) What if, we manage to get some more debt issued at the going US rate of close to 0% and invest it all in Nasdaq stocks like GameStop? What could possibly go wrong with such a fine startup? After all, is the 0% interest rate is better than free, it is effectively negative inflation which is say -7% Given an aggregate 12%-ish annual growth of Nasdaq stocks, we're going to be making 12+7=19% annual return. I hope everybody on this forum is investing into GameStop with me and nsdp. Free money from Uncle Sam entirely legally is too much fun. It is obviously the perfect time to invest now that the US economy is booming? What do you mean, it does not? Who cares about the brick and mortar BS? It is chump change. Internet commerce, high finance (especially venture), modern post-industrial, service-oriented economy made out of services obviously distinct from flipping burgers including referential BigMacs nsdp can afford so much more often than Russians. About to undergo a totally awesome "energy transition" to being powered by the Chinese-made Li-Ion laptop cells. (ask the specialist on that, Jay) Soon, about to become breatharians (feeding on pure prana, which is some kind of funky Hindu crap which costs you nothing, takes no time and is better than Soylent, I swear. You won't even need to poop anymore)

Wish the old guy gets to see the bonfire which arrives when there is finally a stampede to the exit before his stroke arrives? See, we seem to be best friends here, but I don't know him too well. Mental health issues don't obviously affect life expectations in any obvious way. Except Ron. He's gonna live to 100+, because he only believes in wholesome things. nsdp obviously not so much, so I'd say his chances to see the day are up to how many of the American burgers he's actually been affording every day. Especially before they outlawed that "pink goo" stuff they used to make them out of.

Now, when the stamped does arrive, you are going to wish you lived in an economy the least exposed to the rick of toxic USD. Could I interest you in touring DPRK? They charge 2x the prices for everything from US citizens already, and it is still dirt cheap for everybody else. What's in for you? Specifically, the North Koreans do openly admit to eating puppies and will share the goodies with you. (got bigger image issues to worry about) They have legal crystal meth. Yes, everybody knows somebody who's in the labor camps. Their incarceration rate is huge, behind the USA and Turkmenistan only. (guess, who's got most people doing time in the world?) But, if you hook a Korean buddy up with a transfer to a Sibirian gulag, they'll be your friends for life. It is how you return to DPRK a made man. You can make enough in a Siberian gulag to spare enough cash for a real Chinese-made refrigerator, which you can sell to the members of the elite who can afford such luxuries and open a small business for yourself! It is actually a booming trade. Kim takes a cut of the proceeds, though. Now, if you think any of this is funny wait till you wake up in Futurama full of blackjack and hookers that US is going to turn into after the bigger GameStop event arrives. Don't say you haven't been warned about stopping trying to rape and pillage the rest of the world, repent and try to reach an amicable arrangement about paying back those you unduly hurt. My friend nsdp is apparently resentful of Russia on behalf of his daddy, (who was actually a real Nazi)  being traumatized by his lack of progress in invading Russia due to lack of infrastructure required. I am sorry, our roads do suck. On the other hand, the Nazis got off the hook quite easily. After all, even though they were obviously bastards, they were your bastards, Wessies. Proper white people, not like them Russian mongrels. Uncle Sam could use any help they could get to fight back the Commies, so nsdp's family ended up off the hook. Not paid a cent for 27 mln Soviet people they murdered. Probably did pay somewhat more for each of the 6 million Jews, who ended up having some friends in high places. Overall, got off the hook quite easily. Well, you know how it is. It sucks to be the last man standing in a team. Who is adopting Uncle Sam once he chokes? Granted, some of the unpaid crimes that they are going to be charged for are really not theirs, but came with the various assets they acquired from mergers and acquisition with the rest of the so-called "free world", like the Nazi, the British Imperial has-beens, and ultimately, the Catholic Church. (previously, the same organization as the Orthodox one, which you can have for free)

Go nsdp, stay with us some more! It's for your daddy, the Nazi Sr.

So sad , Putins gold pile has never helped the Ruble from failing. Average monthly salary in Russia $500 is a joke. Does Putin help the average Russian with all that oil money (yep it is sold in Dollars not Rubles) or does his gold?  (yep traded in dollars not Rubles) . Instead you get $500 a month and all the wealth is handed to a few of his pals.  Yes please move back to Russia and experience poverty on a daily basis. I hope Putin invades Russia as I will love to see Russia treated the same as Cuba, Enjoy the thought.

 

PS....Amazing that the US money supply increased as it has and not affected the Dollar one bit at all. Really reflects on the strength of the US. The dollar is the Worlds Currency, deal with it. Putins Ruble??? worthless.  Putin can print all the Rubles he wants and all he will be doing  is ruining Russia more. Cheaper to wipes one ass with Rubles than toilet paper. Must drive you crazy when Putin pays you your trolls salary. All you get paid is a few rolls of toilet paper.

Edited February 21, 2022 by notsonice

[bobo88 + 58]

10 hours ago, kshithij Sharma said:

Market value makes no sense. If you can't say where you got the money from, it means you don't have any money. The asset value makes no sense as there is no one capable of buying the $53 trillion worth of market stocks and hence that $53trillion can never be encashed

Cyber warfare is useless in real war. It can only be used to cripple the useless banking system which anyways uses fake money printed on paper and don't have any real value by itself. Cyber warfare can not cause any damage for physical systems and infrastructure in any manner. 

Lol! Which EU country has air defence system? Which EU country has enough oil and gas to fuel their war efforts? The only way EU NATO countries can defeat Russia is if all of them gang up together along with USA involvement. Even then, the entire EU NATO will be wiped out by Russia before Russia gets destroyed.

" Cyber warfare is useless in real war. It can only be used to cripple the useless banking system which anyways uses fake money printed on paper and don't have any real value by itself. Cyber warfare can not cause any damage for physical systems and infrastructure in any manner. "

You couldn't be more wrong.

" Cyber warfare is useless in real war. It can only be used to cripple the useless banking system which anyways uses fake money printed on paper and don't have any real value by itself. Cyber warfare can not cause any damage for physical systems and infrastructure in any manner. "

You couldn't be more wrong.

May 2021: hackers shut down the Colonial pipeline which transports half of the gasoline used on the east coast and southeast.  Colonial paid the ransom $4.4 million after 11 days.

After Iran shot down a U.S drone  . The U.S retaliated.  Before they did so they completely shut down a key Iranian Missile Defense Control operations.  Completely shut it down.

In 2018 as a result of an action Russia took Trump punched back twice as hard with MAJOR retaliatory cyber attack.  It is classified TOP SECRET.  It was big. 

After Paramount produced a comedy movie making fun of the North Korean leader he shut down Paramount information systems. That one is funny.

For example: Just because haven't seen the devastation a U.S. nuclear equipped submarine fleet can unleash on the world doesn't mean it is not real.  U.S. just hasn't used it yet.

U.S. cyber warfare has only been used a few times.  Very minor incidents just to keep them honest.

Everyone is vulnerable, even the U.S.

Edited February 21, 2022 by bobo88

[kshithij Sharma + 78]

3 hours ago, Rob Plant said:

Have you not heard of nuclear weapons?

Youre talking about conventional warfare!

Why would Russia attack even the UK when it has nuclear subs? If they launch at the same time its BOOM!

UK has air defence numpty

 

Yeah, Russia is way bigger than the nuclear powered EU states. UK does not have effective air defence system such as BMD or powerful SAM. Russia also has way more nuclear weapons than entire EU combined. Add to it the enormous amount of oil and gas with Russia. This makes Russia clearly dominant. Moreover, if you think that nuclear weapons can wipe out a country, you are badly mistaken. Nuclear weapons cause major damage but is not "god-tier" weapons which destroy everything.

34 minutes ago, notsonice said:

Market value makes no sense. If you can't say where you got the money from, it means you don't have any money.???

What are you babbling about???? You must be one of Putins Trolls...Your statements are just BS babble.

Russia may occupy the Ukraine by force......However it will never again be allowed to do anything with the West. What has Russia gained??? Isolation so no one trades with it, including China. Must suck to be a supporter of Putin. He is destroying Russia

 

What exactly is the west providing Russia which is more important than what Russia is providing the West? Russia provides the most important energy source - oil, gas and coal to the west without which Western economy would be in shambles, particularly EU economy (USA has energy independence for now). Russian imports are mostly automobiles, luxury goods, fruits and semiconductors. Other than semiconductors, nothing is of significant value. West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia, not other way around. China does not give a damn about Western sanctions and will continue trading. So will other countries like India, GCC, Turkey etc who will disregard sanctions imposed by the west. 

8 minutes ago, bobo88 said:

" Cyber warfare is useless in real war. It can only be used to cripple the useless banking system which anyways uses fake money printed on paper and don't have any real value by itself. Cyber warfare can not cause any damage for physical systems and infrastructure in any manner. "

You couldn't be more wrong.

Could you give one practical usage of cyber warfare during war? This is assuming the countries at war are using indigenous equipments. The only way cyber war can inflict damage is when a country is fighting with imported equipments for which the codes are in foreign hands and hence can be misused/hacked. For example, Stuxnet against Iran was possible because Iran used foreign softwares and equipments in its nuclear facilities. If Iranian nuclear facilities were indigenous, this would not have worked

[notsonice + 1,243]

6 hours ago, frankfurter said:

Deliver or pay?  This is weird.  Is Leyen confused with penalties?  I have seen take or pay, but never deliver or pay.  Any lawyers here to add objective comments?

 

but never deliver or pay??? do you not understand how it works...If you do not deliver the gas in a contract you must pay the penalty (PAY) as written in the contract. Pretty simple. Do you need a lawyer to understand how it works?? sad 

[notsonice + 1,243]

10 minutes ago, kshithij Sharma said:

Yeah, Russia is way bigger than the nuclear powered EU states. UK does not have effective air defence system such as BMD or powerful SAM. Russia also has way more nuclear weapons than entire EU combined. Add to it the enormous amount of oil and gas with Russia. This makes Russia clearly dominant. Moreover, if you think that nuclear weapons can wipe out a country, you are badly mistaken. Nuclear weapons cause major damage but is not "god-tier" weapons which destroy everything.

What exactly is the west providing Russia which is more important than what Russia is providing the West? Russia provides the most important energy source - oil, gas and coal to the west without which Western economy would be in shambles, particularly EU economy (USA has energy independence for now). Russian imports are mostly automobiles, luxury goods, fruits and semiconductors. Other than semiconductors, nothing is of significant value. West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia, not other way around. China does not give a damn about Western sanctions and will continue trading. So will other countries like India, GCC, Turkey etc who will disregard sanctions imposed by the west. 

Could you give one practical usage of cyber warfare during war? This is assuming the countries at war are using indigenous equipments. The only way cyber war can inflict damage is when a country is fighting with imported equipments for which the codes are in foreign hands and hence can be misused/hacked. For example, Stuxnet against Iran was possible because Iran used foreign softwares and equipments in its nuclear facilities. If Iranian nuclear facilities were indigenous, this would not have worked

Russia provides the most important energy source - oil, gas and coal to the west without which Western economy would be in shambles, particularly EU economy .......

The west has other sources for energy than just Russia........Putin has overplayed his hand by trying to use Energy as a weapon of war and now no one in Europe trusts Russia. Again Putin is destroying Russia's credibility. 

 

 

West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia???? about the stupidest comment I have ever read. You either are a paid Putin troll or you are high on drugs

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by notsonice

[bobo88 + 58]

15 minutes ago, kshithij Sharma said:

Yeah, Russia is way bigger than the nuclear powered EU states. UK does not have effective air defence system such as BMD or powerful SAM. Russia also has way more nuclear weapons than entire EU combined. Add to it the enormous amount of oil and gas with Russia. This makes Russia clearly dominant. Moreover, if you think that nuclear weapons can wipe out a country, you are badly mistaken. Nuclear weapons cause major damage but is not "god-tier" weapons which destroy everything.

What exactly is the west providing Russia which is more important than what Russia is providing the West? Russia provides the most important energy source - oil, gas and coal to the west without which Western economy would be in shambles, particularly EU economy (USA has energy independence for now). Russian imports are mostly automobiles, luxury goods, fruits and semiconductors. Other than semiconductors, nothing is of significant value. West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia, not other way around. China does not give a damn about Western sanctions and will continue trading. So will other countries like India, GCC, Turkey etc who will disregard sanctions imposed by the west. 

Could you give one practical usage of cyber warfare during war? This is assuming the countries at war are using indigenous equipments. The only way cyber war can inflict damage is when a country is fighting with imported equipments for which the codes are in foreign hands and hence can be misused/hacked. For example, Stuxnet against Iran was possible because Iran used foreign softwares and equipments in its nuclear facilities. If Iranian nuclear facilities were indigenous, this would not have worked

Wrong

This war hasn't started yet.  Hopefully it never does.

Russia will save any serious cyber attack for the battle.  U.S. might punch back with their own attack.

[kshithij Sharma + 78]

1 hour ago, notsonice said:

Russia provides the most important energy source - oil, gas and coal to the west without which Western economy would be in shambles, particularly EU economy .......

The west has other sources for energy than just Russia........Putin has overplayed his hand by trying to use Energy as a weapon of war and now no one in Europe trusts Russia. Again Putin is destroying Russia's credibility. 

 

 

West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia???? about the stupidest comment I have ever read. You either are a paid Putin troll or you are high on drugs

 

If you noticed, in Europe only fellow Eastern/Byzantinian nations trusted Russia. Russia was never trusted anytime by western European states, be it 200 years ago or now. Nothing has changed. Russia also has realised this and hence gone on the offensive.

The reality is that there is no alternative to Russian energy, especially oil. Russian gas may be temporarily substituted but that too will be for limited time as Russian gas reserves will outlast any other reserves, thereby eventually regaining dominance. But for now, the oil dominance is more than enough to keep the west in line. West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia and that is Russian biggest trump card

[ronwagn + 6,290]

On 2/8/2022 at 2:09 PM, Tomasz said:

As share holder of Gazprom I would like NS II to be postponed for couple of years.

For one simple reason - have any of you look at TTF futures recently?

Lets say up to 2025

This is why I dont want NS II to be lauched now. 

This year longterm contracts with Poland and few other countries will expire - its minus 22 bilion m3 in long term contract

Rest can be supplied by NS I Turkish Stream Ukraine before 2024

At what price. Wel TTF futures says that at very high price

This is how this will look like untill 2024 but high NG is problem of Europe not Russia

After 2024 contract transit with Ukraine will not be renewed- you will have to choose NG through NS II or nor NG at all.

I wonder whether german big bussiness wants to pay so much for happinesss of Ukrainian people. I think they want lower NG more.

Germany is the virtual leader of the E.U. with France. They must be good leaders or all of Europe falls apart. They know this. The price is worth it. Natural gas prices will go down. There is plenty of natural gas all around the world. Even in Europe. The Green propaganda has been the problem, lets see what they can do for energy. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

46 minutes ago, kshithij Sharma said:

If you noticed, in Europe only fellow Eastern/Byzantinian nations trusted Russia. Russia was never trusted anytime by western European states, be it 200 years ago or now. Nothing has changed. Russia also has realised this and hence gone on the offensive.

The reality is that there is no alternative to Russian energy, especially oil. Russian gas may be temporarily substituted but that too will be for limited time as Russian gas reserves will outlast any other reserves, thereby eventually regaining dominance. But for now, the oil dominance is more than enough to keep the west in line. West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia and that is Russian biggest trump card

Japan does just fine without its own energy sources and has one of the largest economies in the world. Europe now has wind and is working on wave energy. They can revive nuclear. They have biomass, synthetic oil from coal, peat, biogas all domestically. It fits in with the green agenda to some extent. Price is an issue but it is better than being totally blackmailed by Russia. LNG prices will fall as time goes on, it is a natural part of economics called supply and demand. Natural gas is common throughout the world and the coastlines. Just go for it. Methane hydrates are even greater than the natural gas on land. 

[notsonice + 1,243]

54 minutes ago, kshithij Sharma said:

If you noticed, in Europe only fellow Eastern/Byzantinian nations trusted Russia. Russia was never trusted anytime by western European states, be it 200 years ago or now. Nothing has changed. Russia also has realised this and hence gone on the offensive.

The reality is that there is no alternative to Russian energy, especially oil. Russian gas may be temporarily substituted but that too will be for limited time as Russian gas reserves will outlast any other reserves, thereby eventually regaining dominance. But for now, the oil dominance is more than enough to keep the west in line. West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia and that is Russian biggest trump card

The reality is that there is no alternative to Russian energy, especially oil. ????

Brain dead thinking.........

Russia exports are 4.3 million b/d. Around 4 percent of the world supply, Yes there are alternatives

West will collapse if it stops trading with Russia and that is Russian biggest trump card??? again another brain dead comment. The West will not collapse. Are all of Putin's paid trolls idiots such as yourself?

[Tomasz + 1,608]

The topic of Ukraine in NATO is now closed as long as Russia military oppose that.

The topic of foreign investments in Ukraine is closed after such an armed demonstration for at least next few years, because no normal person invests serious money in the future battlefield.

This type of conflict will not only scare off investors and FDI, but will also give another 200-300 thousand Ukrainian reasons to go abroad. Where their job market is gutted and burned out right now.

If Russia's goal was to halt the development of Ukraine, they have achieved this goal.

Ukraine cannot afford such high military expenses in the long run. GDP in real numbers is still only around 93% of GDP in 2014.

Even in pre-covid 2019, FDI was practically 0.

I will also remind you that in the years 2014-2020 we had an epoch of low raw material prices. From 2021, the announced new great commodity boom began, and this boom on the geopolitics in the region and the Russian capabilities  have a fundamental effect.

The demographic situation in Ukraine is much more tragic than in Russia - there are already only 10-15 people working in Ukraine for 10 pensioners.

The West has just shown that Ukraine will not be defended in any case as not a NATO member and it is  unknown whether any sanctions will stop Putin if he decides that China's advantage over America is already large enough that the right moment has come.

Russia currently relies on a growing hegemon and grows with it.

And after the informal annexation of Belarus, Ukraine is de facto surrounded on three sides and has almost 3,000 km of frontier to defend.

With their gdp and about 1/3 of the population welcoming the invaders with bread and salt, if Russia finally decides that the right time has come to resolve serious family matters, then China moves to Taiwan Russia to Ukraine and the Baltic states and Iran to Israel and the chances of defending the US military hegemony on at least so many fronts away from home and each other to me they are slim.

Its called overextension guys or better known as Kindelberger trap in geopolitics.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Tomasz

[notsonice + 1,243]

10 minutes ago, Tomasz said:

The topic of Ukraine in NATO is closed.

The topic of foreign investments in Ukraine is closed after such an armed demonstration, because no normal person invests in the future battlefield.

This type of conflict will not only scare off investors and FDI, but will also give another 200-300 thousand reasons to go abroad. Where their job market is gutted and burned out right now.

If Russia's goal was to halt the development of Ukraine, they have achieved this goal.

Ukraine cannot afford such military expenses in the long run. GDP in real numbers is around 93% of GDP in 2014.

Even in pre-covid 2019, FDI was practically 0.

I will also remind you that in the years 2014-2020 we had an epoch of low raw material prices. From 2021, the announced new great commodity began, and this on the geopolitics in the region and the Russian opportunities that have a fundamental effect on it.

The demographic situation is much more tragic than in Russia - there are already 10-15 people working in Ukraine for 10 pensioners.

The West has just shown that Ukraine will not be armed to defend in any case, and it is not known whether any sanctions will stop Putin if it decides that China's advantage over America is already large enough that the right moment has come.

Russia currently relies on a growing hegemon and grows with it.

After the informal annexation of Belarus, Ukraine is de facto surrounded on three sides and has almost 3,000 km of frontier to defend.

With their gdp and 1/3 of the population welcoming the invaders with bread and salt, if Russia decides that the time has come to resolve family matters, then China moves to Taiwan Russia to Ukraine and the Baltic states and Iran to Israel and the chances of defending the US military hegemony on at least so many fronts away from home to me they are slim.

The topic of Ukraine in NATO is closed.???

Then why is Putin making such a big fuss???? Reality now NATO bigger and stronger than ever. Enjoy US troops in Poland forever. Will not take much in the future to move them into the Ukraine when Ukraine joins NATO.

Ukraine cannot afford such military expenses in the long run??? The US will now give to the Ukraine all the military supplies it needs, thanks to your pal Putin.

 

and it is not known whether any sanctions will stop Putin if it decides that China's advantage over America is already large enough that the right moment has come.  right moment for ????

Once again China will not come to Putins rescue as trade between China and the US (615 Billion US) 4 times bigger than Russian -China trade...good luck with your babble

 

you are babbling as your shares in Gazprom are going down. Let me guess you are a Russian  living in Poland

Edited February 21, 2022 by notsonice