Russia-Ukraine gas dispute flares up as Europe bears the impact
The recent disputes between Russia and Ukraine over the supply of natural gas flared up this Tuesday. Ukraine lashed out at Russia saying that it had cut the supply of natural gas to Europe. Nine countries reported having their gas supplies cut off or reduced by Russia.
The Russian energy Giant Gazprom has cut three of four of its export pipelines. These are the pipelines through which Europe receives its gas supplies and hence such an act has had a significant impact on a number of nations.
Gazprom places the blame on Ukraine for giving rise to the current situation. The deputy chief of Gazprom, Alexander Medvedex said “Ukraine is in obvious breach of obligations as a transit country.”
Following the reduction of gas supply at least nine countries reported to be experiencing a shortage in their gas supply through the Ukraine channel. The countries that have been impacted include Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Turkey. These nations however did not blame either side for the problem but expressed their concerns for the issue.
Ukraine has been receiving natural gas from Russia for many years but this latest twist in their dealings is becoming grimmer by the day. Ukraine’s natural gas supply was cut off last week when the country failed to meet the dead line for past payment. Ukraine on the other hand has denied that it owes the money that Russia is demanding. At the moment Ukraine is being able to meet its needs due to supplies decked up in the storage facilities.
A meeting between the two countries has been scheduled for Thursday where they will discuss the issue at hand. Gazprom has stated that it will be filing suit against Ukraine accusing the country of siphoning gas from the export pipelines.
The Romanian and Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy have reported that their countries have experienced a 75% reduction in gas supply as a direct result of the dispute. Turkey is one of the nations that has been severely impacted by the dispute as the supply of gas that reached it through Ukraine has been completely cut off. A number of countries have over 50% percent of their gas supply cut off due to the Russian blockade whereas some nations like Greece and Turkey are not receiving any gas at all.
Madoff Investor commits suicide
Madoff has cost many investors around the world millions of dollars by running a grand level scam. For Rene Thrierry Magon however the scam cost him his life. The investor who had lost $1.4 billion dollars at the hands of Madoff was found dead in his office on Dec 23 2008. The founder of the de la Villehechet fund had slit both his wrists and committed suicide losing all reason to live.
This has marked a grim turn in the global scandal that has brought some of the biggest and richest people on their knees. The body of Rene Thierry was found in office about 8am. The investor had slit both his wrists using a box cutter after popping some sleeping pills to numb the pain. He left without writing a suicide note.
The investor was one of the severely hit individuals in the $50 billion scam. Other investment funds that had failed to protect their clients from the fraud are also being targeted by investor lawsuits and facing an even more tough time.
It is for sure that de la Villehuchet must have been facing a certain amount of scrutiny over the losses he had incurred in the scam. The nature of the scrutiny however has not been disclosed. On Monday night the investor reportedly told the cleaning crew of his office to leave by 7pm as he intended on working till late. The next morning the cleaning workers returned to the office only to find the door of his office locked from the inside. After managing to break through the door the police discovered Rene’s dead body at his desk with the box that he used to slit his wrist lying next to him on the floor.
The now dead prominent investor belonged to a long line of aristocratic Frenchmen. He had a lineage coming down from one of the most powerful French families. The investor has left behind a widow and no children.
Chrysler closing down all its 30 plants in order to match declining sales
The automobile manufacturing giant company Chrysler is facing a tough time as the demand for its cars continues to decline. In a recent conference the company announced that it will be shutting down all of its 30 manufacturing plants for a duration of one month starting from the coming Friday.
The US has experienced the most serious decline in auto sales since the past two decades. Chrysler has decided to shut down its plant in an attempt to bring the production level down to match the slowing demand for its vehicles. This will help them to conserve the cash that was being spent on maintaining production at the same level.
The bulk of the potential buyers of the company’s cars are being kept away from the showrooms because of the tightening f the credit markets. The dealers are suffering because of lack of financing which has mad them unable to close ales for the buyers. The deteriorating credit situation has brought the volume of sales down by up to 25%. The company recorded a 47.1% decline in its sale in the month of November alone.
The company has appealed to Washington for financial aid without which they could run out of cash in the coming weeks. Chrysler estimates that its will be hit by a $2.5 billion drop in cash by the end of the year. This is the minimum that the company requires in order to meet its pay suppliers, payrolls and general costs of running the company. The company will be unable make ends meet without any financial aid from the government.
The halt in the company’s operations will be initiated from Friday Dec 19th and none of the plants are set to be reopened before the 19th of January 2009. Chrysler is desperately trying to draw out a $7 billion loan from the government in an attempt to survive the worst slump in automobile sales in the last 26 years.
The government realizes that an abrupt bankruptcy declared by the suffering automakers would have devastating effects on the economy. The president has therefore announced a bailout package would soon be offered to the suffering automakers so as to enable them to stabilize their operations.