Russia Rejects Raiffeisen Appeal Against €2 Billion Court Order
Raiffeisen Bank International AG lost its appeal of a court decision ordering it to pay more than €2 billion ($2.3 billion) of damages to a company formerly owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska.
A commercial appeals court in St. Petersburg denied Raiffeisen's attempt to reverse an earlier court order to pay Rasperia Trading Ltd. damages for a failed transaction, according to a bank spokesperson who confirmed a report from the Austria Press Agency.
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
House Speaker Mike Johnson backs efforts to sanction Russia ‘as strongly as we can'
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) threw his support behind renewed congressional efforts to sanction the Kremlin over Russian President Vladimir Putin's brutal war against Ukraine. 'There's many members of Congress that want us to sanction Russia as strongly as we can,' Johnson told reporters on Monday. 'And I'm an advocate of that.' The House speaker's support for legislation punishing the Russian regime comes amid a bipartisan push in the Senate to impose 'bone-breaking sanctions' on Russia. 3 Johnson expressed support for passing sanctions legislation against Russia on Monday. AP Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have co-sponsored a measure in the upper chamber that would slap a 500% tariff on any country purchasing Russian energy products. Graham expects the Senate to 'start moving' the bill forward this week. 'You will see congressional action,' the South Carolina Republican said during a press conference in Ukraine last week. Like Johnson, Graham noted that 'there are House members that are ready' to pass the sanctions bill and get it to President Trump's desk for his signature. It's unclear if Trump would support severe sanctions on Moscow amid Russia-Ukraine peace talks that have seemingly failed to gain any traction. 3 Graham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv over the weekend. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images 'We are in conversations with the White House, obviously, about that subject and that issue,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on Monday. 'There's a high level of interest here in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle and moving on it, and it very well could be something that we would take up in this work period,' Thune added. 'Obviously, we're working with the White House to try and ensure that what we do and when we do it works well with the negotiations that they've got underway.' 3 The Senate bill would impose 500% tariffs on countries that purchase energy from Russia. via REUTERS The Graham-Blumenthal bill – 'Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025' – has more than 80 co-sponsors in the Senate. 'The bill would put Russia on a trade island,' Graham wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week. 'The consequences of its barbaric invasion must be made real to those that prop it up. If China or India stopped buying cheap oil, Mr. Putin's war machine would grind to a halt.' 'I'm hoping for the best, but when it comes to the thug in Moscow, we should all prepare for more of the same.' The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Trump has expressed mounting frustrations with Putin's refusal to curtail strikes against Ukraine, but has stopped short of announcing tougher sanctions on the regime despite having threatened them earlier this month.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Crude Below $65 Squeezes U.S. Shale, Even as Drivers Celebrate
In a market increasingly governed by geopolitical tremors and macroeconomic mismatches, crude oil dipping below $65 per barrel seems like a gift to global consumers. But behind that price tag lies a slow-moving crisis for U.S. shale producers, many of whom are being forced to pull back on production, delay capital projects, and recalculate what sustainability means in a low-margin world. Even after a brilliant spike on Monday, Brent is still languishing around $65 per barrel, with WTI trailing slightly lower. But while American drivers are beginning to enjoy sub-$3 gasoline at the pump in several states, producers from the Permian to the Bakken are facing rising pressure from investors and markets alike. Low prices are forcing tough decisions on everything from rig count to buybacks, and the broader U.S. energy sector is again confronting volatility. OPEC+'s weekend announcement that it will continue easing output restrictions with a fresh 411,000 bpd increase for July barely registered in the market, distracted as it was by Ukrainian drones and Russian military targets. But in the interim, American producers are stuck in a precarious position, squeezed between falling benchmarks and rising breakevens. A year ago, $65 oil would not have raised alarms. In fact, many U.S. producers and analysts viewed that price level as sustainable — if not ideal. Coming off the post-pandemic cost discipline and a period of investor-enforced capital restraint, shale operators had slimmed down enough to turn profits in the $60–$70 range. But the landscape in 2025 looks very different. Input costs for steel, labor, and frac materials have surged, pushing breakeven prices in major basins closer to $70. The average breakeven price for Permian producers is now edging back toward the mid-$60s, up from the mid-$50s just two years ago. New tariffs on imported equipment have further inflated expenses, as noted by the Financial energy analysts have been sounding the alarm that these prices are not sustainable for U.S. shale. Rystad Energy said in a May 30 briefing that the breakeven price for new horizontal wells in key shale plays is now closer to $68 per barrel, a sharp rise compared to 2023. 'There's an expectation of tight capital budgets and slower reinvestment — even if prices recover modestly,' said analyst Artem Abramov. Wood Mackenzie echoed the sentiment, noting that investor expectations for returns have hardened. 'This is not 2014. Investors want cash flow, not growth,' said Robert Clarke, VP of upstream research. 'If the price floor doesn't come back, the rig count absolutely will fall.' While investors continue to prioritize shareholder returns over growth, producers now face the challenge of delivering those returns with increasingly thin margins. What was a comfortable floor in 2024 has become a pressure point in 2025. Diamondback Energy, one of the top-tier Permian operators, recently flagged that U.S. shale output may have already peaked for 2025. Speaking during its May earnings call, CEO Travis Stice said, 'We're entering a period of discipline, not expansion. Prices like this don't support aggressive growth.' The company has reduced its production guidance slightly for the second half of the year and halted plans to add rigs. Share buybacks were modest in Q1 (just $150 million) and no new acceleration has been signaled. Diamondback is still profitable, but just barely, and analysts at Truist Securities have warned that 'continued sub-$65 oil could force a dividend reduction later in the year.' Liberty Energy, a major hydraulic fracturing services provider, is in deeper water. With fewer producers willing to fund new wells, the company has warned it may reduce its frac crew count by up to 15% by August. According to CEO Chris Wright, 'The environment is telling us to get lean again.' The stock has lost over 40% since January, despite earlier optimism about a robust drilling year. Liberty's challenges are particularly telling because the company operates across multiple basins and serves both large and mid-sized independents. As goes Liberty, so goes the rig count. Coterra Energy has begun trimming its exposure more aggressively. In its latest investor presentation, the company noted a planned reduction in Permian rig activity by 30% for H2 2025. Capital expenditures are being revised downward by 4%, and executives say they're 'focused on preserving shareholder returns in a tough environment.' Coterra's diversified asset base — spread across the Permian, Marcellus, and Anadarko basins — gives it a buffer. But as the New York Times recently reported, 'The economic playbook of pumping through the pain is losing favor fast' among shale CFOs. One less-discussed factor contributing to the squeeze: steel tariffs. reported last week that U.S. imports of OCTG (oil country tubular goods) have dropped sharply due to new rounds of tariffs on Chinese and Vietnamese pipe. As a result, costs for casing and tubing have risen over 20% YTD for many mid-cap producers. This further erodes margins at a time when shale players have little room for inefficiencies. Even firms with hedges in place for H1 2025 will see rolling exposure in Q3 and Q4. The pain is only just beginning. The bigger picture is industry retrenchment. While the U.S. consumer cheers falling gas prices, the supply chain that keeps those prices low is looking brittle. The rig count, already down 7% since January, is expected to fall further in June. If prices remain at or below $65, shale may contract by another 300,000 to 500,000 bpd by year-end, according to estimates from S&P Global. Unless there's a sudden reversal in global balances or a geopolitical shock that drives prices higher, U.S. shale producers may need to brace for a longer downturn than anyone expected. More Top Reads From this article on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
US Senate may work on Russia sanctions bill this month
By Patricia Zengerle and David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican leader of the U.S. Senate said on Monday the chamber could begin work this month on a bill imposing stiff sanctions on Russia - and secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Russia - over its war in Ukraine. Majority Leader John Thune said President Donald Trump's administration still hopes for an agreement to end the three-year-old conflict, but the Senate is prepared to help put pressure on Moscow. "We also stand ready to provide President Trump with any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the table in a real way," Thune said in a speech opening the Senate. Thune told reporters afterward he has been discussing the sanctions legislation with the White House. The measure would impose 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. China and India account for about 70% of Russia's international energy business, which helps fund its war effort. The bill, whose lead sponsors are Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, now has at least 82 co-sponsors in the 100-member Senate. Graham said in Kyiv last week he thought the Senate could take up the bill as soon as this week, but Thune did not set that timeframe. "I think right now they're still hopeful they'll be able to strike some sort of a deal. But as you might expect, there's a high level of interest here in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle, and moving on it, and it very well could be something that we would take up in this work period," Thune said. He was referring to the weeks before lawmakers leave Washington ahead of the July 4 Independence Day recess. "We're working with the White House to try and ensure that what we do and when we do it, it works well with the negotiations that they've got under way," Thune said. Graham has said the legislation would impose "bone-breaking sanctions" on Russia and its customers if Moscow does not engage in talks, or if it initiates another effort undermining Ukraine's sovereignty after any peace deal. The measure is a rare example of bipartisanship in the bitterly divided U.S. Congress. Trump appears to be growing increasingly impatient with what he has suggested might be foot-dragging over a wider agreement with Moscow to end the war. To become law, the legislation must pass the Senate and House of Representatives and be signed by Trump. Trump has said he worries more sanctions would hurt prospects for a peace deal. There has been no indication from the House's Republican leaders of any plan to allow a vote on the sanctions package.
