In Today's Digital Newspaper U.S. airlines continued to cancel or significantly delay flights in parts of the United States on Thursday. This writer experienced first-hand a major delay getting out of Atlanta due to storms there and in the region. While the Delta plane eventually arrived at Dulles Airport, it was 3 a.m. ET.
The situation with Russia's economy is quite complex, reflecting several contributing factors that are pushing it into a precarious situation. Details below. The Biden administration moved yesterday to raise royalties and other fees for companies developing oil and gas on public lands, changes it said were needed to ensure a fairer return to the taxpayer and discourage speculators. More in Energy section.
The biggest challenge for President Biden in 2024 isn't if a third-party candidate is on the ballot, Amy Walter writes — it's if Donald Trump is not. But Charlie Cook writes:"Unless either former President Trump or President Biden have an adverse health event forcing them to terminate their campaign, we are going to have a Trump-Biden rematch, whether the parties or the public prefer it or not. Of course, a 2024 matchup may have some different angles than four years ago.
• The possibility of a nationwide UPS strike is rising, as union negotiations with the company remain unresolved. The union represents 340,000 UPS workers, and a strike has been set for August 1 if no deal is reached. To try to prevent a strike, both parties have agreed to resume negotiations next week. If the strike goes ahead, it would be the most significant labor disruption in over 50 years, which could have significant repercussions for the U.S. economy.
China's role. This action has been of particular concern because China, as Russia's ally and the leading recipient of grain shipments from Ukraine under the agreement, could potentially influence Russia to re-enter the deal. — Russia is pushing a plan to supply Africa with its own grain and cut Ukraine out of global markets, after withdrawing from a U.N.-backed deal this week, the Financial Times reports. Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested a plan where Qatar foots the bill for Moscow to send its grain to Turkey, which in turn would distribute it to "countries in need" This plan, however, has not yet been agreed upon by either Qatar or Turkey, or raised on a formal level.
Analysts say Russia's motive for this indirect grain deal can be interpreted as an effort to display its power and to further pressure Kyiv, mostly by exporting grain from areas of Ukraine presently under Russian military control. They are packaging it as an altruistic move aimed at providing free grain for poorer countries to rally support globally and especially against western sanctions.
Additionally, Russia is facing a negative growth rate, where its potential growth rate is lower than before the invasion of Crimea. This could further compound the issue, as resources are siphoned off to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, impacting the growth rate and pushing it below 1%, according to some economists.
Bottom line: Over the longer term, the persisting impact of sanctions, the increasing international isolation, and the severe labor shortage are poised to negatively affect Russia's growth prospects, analysts say. Despite having weathered the sanctions better than expected so far, future optimism might be unwarranted considering the overall picture.