Barclays Share Discussion Threads

[stonedyou] 07/5/2024 21:05

UKRAINIAN DEFENCES IN TATTERS DUE TO CORRUPTION AND A LACK OF FUNDING.

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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

Ukraine could default in August if the Kiev regime does not reach an agreement with foreign bondholders on the payment of interest on liabilities. Compounding this issue is corruption, which is not only sucking money out from paying debt but also from constructing adequate defences to repel Russia’s expected summer offensive.

The Wall Street Journal reported on May 4 that Ukraine is preparing to begin negotiations with creditors this month and that Kiev’s advisers are working to involve the United States and other countries. However, approval of the deal is not guaranteed, as the US and its allies are reportedly concerned that taxpayers’ money will end up in the hands of bondholders if Ukraine resumes debt servicing.

“Without a deal, Ukraine could default after the bondholder-debt holiday ends in August,” the Wall Street Journal said.

The newspaper highlighted that a default would reduce Ukraine’s attractiveness to investors and make it more difficult for Kiev to obtain new loans. The American outlet added that a group of foreign bondholders who own Ukraine’s outstanding Eurobonds formed a committee and hired lawyers and bankers to negotiate with Kiev to resume interest payments in exchange for “forgiveness of a big chunk of the country’s outstanding debt.”

“It is noteworthy that these countries had granted Ukraine a debt moratorium until 2027 on approximately $4 billion of its own loans but fear that Kiev may prioritise repaying bondholders over repaying interest on these loans,” the report emphasised.

Ukraine’s financial woes come as defences are collapsing, which are raising questions in the West about Kiev’s capabilities to hold back Russian troops slowly advancing along the entire 1,000-kilometre-long front line.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has consistently criticised the West for hesitating to supply anti-aircraft defence systems, weapons, and ammunition, citing this as the main reason for his military’s failures. However, these shortages have not been the main problem of the Ukrainian military; rather, corruption is preventing strong fortifications from being constructed.

Kiev allocated almost 38 billion hryvnias ($960 million) to construct a multi-layered network of fortifications. However, Ukrainian troops complain that the defence lines are almost non-existent, as cited by the Associated Press on May 3. The Ukrainian military claims that these works should have been completed last year during a temporary operational pause and not during a withdrawal.

“There was an absence of responsibility. … People didn’t understand that fortifications can save your life if you do it in advance,” said Oleksandr, a deputy infantry commander with the 47th brigade in the Avdiivka area who gave only his first name in line with military rules. “Many people thought we … wouldn’t need to prepare such lines. They didn’t expect a new Russian offensive.”

A serviceman in Ukraine’s engineering force, speaking on the condition of anonymity, explained to AP the immense difficulty they face in preparing defences due to using “equipment from the 1960s and shovels.”

“We entered the war with nothing,” he said, adding when reflecting on the Soviet-era equipment used: “Accordingly, that’s the kind of trenches we made.”

Allocated funds were stolen instead of being used to strengthen defences, as materials meant for trenches and other fortifications never arrived or were overpriced.

As AP admitted, “To rush building across the third line, construction companies were awarded contracts without the usual bidding process,” with Kharkhov Governor Oleh Syniehubov justifying bypassing the usual process since “There was no time.” Bypassing such processes allows for corruption to flourish.

Rampant corruption has been a decisive factor in Ukraine’s failure to prepare sufficient defences against the Russian military and is now contributing to the country facing default if there is no major external intervention from a state or financial institution.

It is recalled that only last month, Arnulf Damerau, an Anglo-German businessman and one of the largest private Western investors in Ukraine, claimed that corrupt officials in the country’s security services and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration tried to extort tens of millions of euros from him.

If such revelations continue to emerge, it is inevitable that funding to avoid default will be even more difficult to secure. As the Wall Street Journal reported, foreign creditors will pressure Kiev to resume interest payments starting next year. The bondholders, including BlackRock and Pimco, have formed a committee and sought legal counsel to negotiate, meaning major pressure is building on the Kiev regime to meet its financial commitments and somehow hold back Russian forces whilst continuing the illegal siphoning of funds.

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[stonedyou] 07/5/2024 20:59

IN VIDEO: UKRAINIAN ARMY LOST ANOTHER ABRAMS TANK NEAR AVDEEVKA

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The Russian Ministry of Defense summed up the results of the ongoing battles in Ukraine over the past day.

According to the Russian military, over the past day, aviation, missile forces and artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation struck the workshop for the production of solid rocket fuel, fuel depots and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 128 areas.

Russian air defense systems shot down 32 unmanned aerial vehicles, seven French-made guided Hammer missiles and seven Czech-made Vampire rockets.

The Russian military continued to improve the situation and occupy more advantageous positions. Units of the Zapad group destroyed one Leopard tank, the Center group destroyed two Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and another Abrams tank. The Ukrainian troops lost up to 1,540 people in total during the day.

The reports about the destruction of the NATO tanks in Ukraine are confirmed by the footage from the front. In particular, new video confirmed successful Russian strikes on another US-made Abrams tank in the Avdeevka region. This is at least the 8th American Abrams tank the loss of which by the AFU was confirmed by the footage. The tank came under the combined attack by Russian FPV drone and Lancet barrage munition.

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[stonedyou] 07/5/2024 20:52

IN VIDEO 18+: FRENCH LOSSES IN UKRAINE.

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Russian servicemen filmed enemy losses on a battlefield in Ukraine reportedly near the village of Belogorovka in the northern Donbass direction. The footage clearly shows a corpse of a foreign mercenary with a patch of the flag of France. Next to it is an MGL grenade launcher manufactured in South Africa and under license in the USA. The Russian servicemen is not surprised because the dead foreigners are not rare on Ukrainian frontlines.

According to the previous reports, forces of rhe French Foreign Legion were transfered to the city of Slavyansk located not far from Belogorovka. However, the dead French fighter was likely one of numerous mercenaries fighting in the ranks of the AFU.

Clashes between Russian paratroopers and professional military personnel from Germany and France – in particular, representatives of the Foreign Legion, were recently reported near Chasov Yar in the Artyomovsk direction.

“These are no longer tick-tockers who came to Ukraine to earn money, and at the first threat they fled from their positions, packed their bags and left back. Now trained, highly motivated fighters have joined the battle. In other words, professional military personnel of NATO countries,” Russian military sources reported.

The first reports of the arrival of foreign mercenaries in Chas Yar came about a month ago, but then it was not clear what kind of operations they were carrying. The deployment of large foreign forces directly on the battlefields is a clear sign of depletion of the Ukrainian manpower.

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[stonedyou] 07/5/2024 20:48

IN PHOTOS: KIEV’S FAKE VICTORY ON DNIEPER ISLANDS.

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After the strategic defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the town of Ocheretino in the Avdeevka last week, the Ukrainian military attempted to declare another fake victory to gains some headlines in the MSM.

On April 29, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine proudly declared control of the island of Nestriga on the Dnieper River in the Kherson region. The Ukrainian military soon claimed control of the Kozulishsky island nearby.

In order to declare another media victory, the Ukrainian military command sent a group of Marines from the 35th brigade of the AFU to the island. Armed Ukrainian servicemen entered the islands on motorboats; but their operation did not last long. They were met by the servicemen of the 61st Marine Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces. As a result of the short-sighted actions of the Ukrainian command, the group of Ukrainian Marines was destroyed.

The command of the Ukrainian 35th brigade continues ‘heroically fighting for the islands’, but only in the media. In fact, there are only Russian marines on Nestriga and Kozulishsky islands. Meanwhile, the photos from the area confirm Russian victory:

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[qantas] 07/5/2024 19:05

What a great day Yoda hammering up

Hello Kitty says Hodl

Please do your own research as always and always follow FCA guidelines

[estienne] 07/5/2024 18:47

these automated posts are a nuisance

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 17:34

Then on to true value at 325p

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 17:34

First stop 240p

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 17:34

As I said many weeks ago

[waynex] 07/5/2024 17:20

Not a bad day!!

[johnwise] 07/5/2024 10:08

Macroeconomist predicts one final rally before ‘worst recession since 1929’


Amid a grim outlook for the economy and expectations of higher taxes in the United States, macroeconomist Henrik Zeberg has warned that the situation might be the worst since the Great Depression that swept the country back in 1929 but that there could be one final rally before that.

Specifically, Zeberg shared the observations earlier listed by the team at the data-driven research platform Game of Trades and pointed out that the worst recession since 1929 was still coming but also that one final rally could take place before it does, as he explained in an X post on May 6.

Furthermore, Finbold reported on Game of Trades suggesting that the trajectory of the US government debt market, which has “massive implications for the economy,” was starting to collapse, specifying that US government bonds had shattered a 40-year uptrend, with prices plummeting to 2013 levels.

[johnwise] 07/5/2024 09:51

Barclays Data Shows DIY Spending Dropped In April

Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, said: “Retailers were hopeful that discretionary spending would bounce back by mid-year, buoyed by falling inflation and the prospect of better weather. While improving consumer confidence offers a ray of hope for the retail and hospitality industries as the summer season approaches, many retailers have adjusted their expectations, anticipating no real recovery until the autumn.”

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:52

Ya madness ain't needed here

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:51

Barclays Thread Loon

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:51

Poor Mad Stoned

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:28

Then onto the true value of 325p

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:28

Meanwhile onto 240p as correctly predicted

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:28

Please do follow ya mummy as always

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:27

No need to acknowledge my knowledge

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:27

Then onto 325p it is worth

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:26

First stop 240p

[you exist to be shamed] 07/5/2024 08:26

As I have once again correctly stated

[reidy66] 07/5/2024 08:25

After a week of consolidation it looks like we're off !