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 Moscow accuses London of ‘piracy’
Calls to seize Russia’s frozen central bank assets follow “English traditions,” the Foreign Ministry has said
Russia has accused the United Kingdom of engaging in modern-day piracy following former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s call to seize the Russian assets that were frozen in the West as part of Ukraine-related sanctions.
In a social media post on Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova likened Sunak’s position to historical acts of piracy.
“This is one of the English traditions, like tea drinking and horse racing. The fact is that piracy was legalized in England. Pirates were forbidden to attack English ships but were allowed to plunder rival vessels,” Zakharova wrote on Telegram.
Zakharova’s criticism follows Sunak’s post on X, where he claimed that “Now is the time to seize [the Russian assets] and make Russia pay.”
The former British prime minister was referring to the roughly $300 billion in assets belonging to Russia’s central bank that had been immobilized by the Western financial system as part of Ukraine-related sanctions since 2022. The assets are mostly EU, US, and British government bonds held in a Brussels-based securities depository.
“If we don’t act, [the assets] could be handed back to Moscow to fund Putin’s next war,” Sunak wrote on Sunday.
The UK has consistently supported the seizure of frozen Russian assets. Last month, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that Europe should move from freezing Russian assets to actively seizing them.
Earlier this month, the British government agreed to issue a $2.84 billion loan to Ukraine backed by the income generated by the assets. In response, Moscow accused London of violating international law and warned that it will have to give the money back.
The EU’s economic sanctions against Russia come up for renewal every six months with the next extension due in July.
The US launched negotiations last month to broker peace in Ukraine, with President Donald Trump indicating that sanctions against Moscow could be lifted if a settlement is achieved. Additionally, Hungary has repeatedly threatened to veto the renewal of EU sanctions against Russia. This means that the assets could potentially be released and returned to Moscow.
The European Parliament last week called on EU member states, in collaboration with G7 partners, to “immediately seize all frozen Russian assets” in order to continue financing Kiev.
Moscow has repeatedly decried the asset freeze as “theft,” while the Kremlin has warned of consequences if Western countries go ahead with the proposed confiscation. |
Bargaining Chip: Zaporozhie NPP As Part Of Ukrainian Deal
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Trump claimed that the control of the Zaporozhie Power Plant is being discussed in negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis. Judging by various reports, Kiev, which has lost large territories, would like to take back control of the station.
The Kremlin has confirmed that Putin and Trump will hold phone talks on March 18. They will discuss Ukraine and the prospects for a ceasefire. The issue of the Zaporozhie Nuclear Power Plant will probably also be touched upon.
Amid the new statements in Washington and media hype about the control of the nuclear power plant, Moscow took an important step. On March 17, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to International Organizations in Vienna declared that the Russian side will no longer continue the rotations of observers of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporozhie NPP through Ukrainian territory. The rotation will be carried out only through the territory that is under Russian control.
Such a statement is an important signal from Moscow, which underlines its position on the status of the NPP. In addition to the diplomatic signal, the decision to stop the rotation of the IAEA staff is also a response to numerous Ukrainian provocations. On March 2, for the first time the rotation of IAEA observers at the Zaporozhie NPP took place without the participation of the Ukrainian side, completely on the territory of Russia under the protection of Russian military personnel. Rotations on Ukrainian territory stopped after another attack by the Ukrainian military. In February, Zelensky’s troops shelled a convoy with IAEA staff at the nuclear power plant, and launched another drone into the territory of the station. Constant Ukrainian attacks continue for years.
After numerous dangerous provocations by Kiev, and the hypocritical silence of the IAEA observers, who have not been able to directly name the perpetrators, Trump reportedly wants to give control of the nuclear power plant to Ukraine. It is unlikely that the Russian Federation will discuss the status of the nuclear power plant and adjacent territories with the United States. The NPP is a strategic asset that ensures the energy supply to the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, where Russia will restore and rebuild the entire infrastructure, as well as to Crimea and other areas. On the other hand, Kiev, which has lost vast territories, has enough stations remaining under its control, and the Zaporozhie nuclear power plant is needed only as a source of additional energy for sale to Europe.
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Military Situation In Ukraine On March 16, 2025 (Map Update)
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Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Sumy region;
Russian heavy bombs destroyed targets in the Kherson region;
Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Kharkiv region;
Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Zaporozhye region;
Russian strikes were recorded in the Kyiv region;
Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Cherkassy region;
Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Dnepropetrovsk region;
Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Poltava region;
Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Mykolaiv region;
Russian strikes destroyed targets in the Odessa region;
Russian strikes were recorded in Chernihiv;
Russian forces advanced in the Kursk region;
Russian forces advanced in the Kupyansk direction;
Russian forces advanced in the Svatove direction;
Clashes continued in the Pokrovsk direction;
Russian forces eliminated about 70 servicemen, six motor vehicles, four artillery guns, and one electronic warfare station in the Kharkiv area;
Russian forces eliminated about 240 servicemen, two M113 armoured personnel carriers, one armoured vehicle, ten motor vehicles, four artillery guns in the Svatove area;
Russian forces eliminated about 305 servicemen, one tank, one armoured vehicle, four motor vehicles, seven artillery guns, one RAK-SA-12 MLRS in the Chasov Yar area;;
Russian forces eliminated about 450 servicemen, five armoured vehicles, eight pickups, five artillery guns, one electronic warfare station in Donetsk region;
Russian forces eliminated up to 150 servicemen, two armoured vehicles, five motor vehicles, three field artillery guns in the Southern Donetsk area;
Russian forces eliminated up to 90 servicemen, five motor vehicles, two artillery guns, three electronic warfare stations in the Kherson region;
Russian air defense forces shot down four U.S.-made JDAM guided aerial bombs and 141 UAVs over the past day.
Russian forces reportedly took control of Gogolevka;
Russian forces entered Rubanshina;
Battles continue near Kurilovka;
Russian forces advanced in Basovkа;
Russian forces eliminated up to 220 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, two personnel carriers, one armoured vehicle, five motor vehicles, three artillery guns, one UAV command post in the area.
Fighting is ongoing in Zvirove;
Fighting is ongoing in Shevchenko;
Russian forces advanced in Uspenivka;
Clashes continued near Preobrazhenka;
Fighting is ongoing near the village of Oleksiivka;
Russian forces eliminated up to 450 Ukrainian servicemen, five armoured vehicles, eight pickups, five artillery guns, one electronic warfare station in the area.
Fighting is ongoing in Novospaske and Scherbynivka;
Fighting is ongoing in northern part of Toretsk;
Fighting is ongoing in southern part of Toretsk;
Russian forces eliminated up to 450 Ukrainian servicemen, five armoured vehicles, eight pickups, five artillery guns, one electronic warfare station in the area.
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LIVE: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds briefing |
full-year results have prompted upbeat reactions from analysts, with Deutsche Bank and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods both maintaining their positive outlooks, albeit with different price targets.
KBW raised its price target to 380p, noting that the bank delivered a solid set of fourth-quarter results, with profits ahead of expectations.
While management’s guidance on banking net interest income for 2025 appeared cautious, the firm believes Barclays is being overly conservative.
It expects stronger revenue from its UK banking operations and corporate and investment banking unit, leading to higher earnings forecasts for the next three years.
Despite the stock doubling in value over the past year, KBW feels that Barclays is still attractively priced, particularly in a falling interest rate environment.
Deutsche also remains confident in the UK lender's prospects, keeping its price target at 350p and reiterating that the stock is one of its top picks among European banks.
The firm expects the bank to build on its 2024 return on tangible equity and push beyond 12% in 2026.
A key driver is the bank’s structural interest rate hedge, which is expected to reprice favourably.
Deutsche Bank also sees potential in Barclays’ efforts to expand market share in corporate and investment banking and improve margins in its United States consumer business. Even if these goals are not fully realised, the analysts argue that the stock remains undervalued.
Both firms see Barclays as well-positioned for the years ahead.
While some investors were disappointed by cautious guidance for 2025, analysts believe the bank has set itself up for continued growth. The outlook remains positive, with strong shareholder returns and a clear path to higher profitability. |
Very weak today rest of my portfolio recovering nicely. |
Marco Rubio has been the biggest positive surprise of this administration.
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UK Manufacturing Challenges: Make UK Survey Findings
Britain’s manufacturers have hit the buffers as a wave of increasing employment taxes and wider business costs bite hard, as well as worries of a global trade war, according to new figures in a major survey published today by Make UK and business advisory firm BDO. UK Manufacturing Challenges have intensified, leading to recruitment freezes, investment delays, and concerns about future growth.
Following the final quarter of last year when business confidence slumped at the fastest rate since the pandemic, this has now translated into a fall in both output and orders. Output fell in the first quarter of the year for the first time in a decade, a highly unusual occurrence according to Make UK.
Job Freezes and Redundancy Plans Amid Uncertainty |
Sen. Tuberville: Tariffs 'Only Shot We Got' to Save US
Critics of President Donald Trump's tariffs are ignoring the troubles the visionaries are seeing down the road, according to Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.
"President Trump walked into a hornet's nest: I know people are complaining about these tariffs right now, but ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you something, this is the only shot we got to get our country back,"
"We can't raise taxes on the American people. We're $37 trillion in debt. We've got to get manufacturing back to this country."
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Sadly, there is no monetary thaw in sight, with higher national insurance coming into effect on 1st April, energy prices set to rise and another ‘Fiscal Event’ on 26th March which could mean even higher taxes for some.
Given the economic environment, it’s no surprise that, as a nation, we have been taking on more unsecured debt.
Unsecured borrowing began to increase in earnest as interest rates took off in January 2022.
The annual growth rate in credit card spending alone hit 13.5% by January 2023, rising a further 12.6% in the following year and up another 8.5% in the year to January 2025.
The average credit card debt per household was £2,534 in October 2024, and overall unsecured debt (including personal loans and car finance) per UK adult was £4,308.
We do not carry this debt lightly – research carried out by the Money and Pension Service reveals that 39 of UK adults worry about credit card debt. |
Wall Street Rips Up Credit Forecasts as Policy Woes Snowball
Just a few months into the year and Wall Street credit analysts are ripping up their forecasts and penciling in a new, grimmer outlook after this week’s jolt to the market.
(Bloomberg) -- Just a few months into the year and Wall Street credit analysts are ripping up their forecasts and penciling in a new, grimmer outlook after this week’s jolt to the market.
Prognosticators from Barclays Plc to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were caught flatfooted this week and had to revise their estimates as the selloff rippling through the markets drove corporate bond spreads wider and saw a series of borrowers postpone sales.
“Credit spreads are not pricing in enough risk,” Barclays Plc analysts Bradley Rogoff and Dominique Toublan warned as they updated their forecasts Friday after a flurry of tariff updates and mounting recession fears blew out their prior outlook. “The uncertainty about the magnitude and speed of the tariff implementation is a key driver of this change.”
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Britain is too good with this sort.. Police should have booted them out in ten minutes
Pro-Palestine activists stage sit-in in Barclays
Pro-Palestine activists occupied the St Andrew’s Street branch of Barclays bank yesterday (15/03), to protest against its alleged “profiteering from fossil fuel extraction industries and the ongoing genocide of Gaza/Palestine”. |
N. Korea reopens to Chinese investors, prioritizing industrial and mineral sectors
North Korea recently opened its doors to Chinese investors and traders, allowing them to collaborate with local companies on machinery, equipment, and mineral development.
“Large numbers of Chinese investors and traders entered North Korea on Feb. 26. They arrived either by air from Beijing and Shenyang to Pyongyang or by bus from Dandong in Liaoning province to Sinuiju,” a source in China told Daily NK recently.
While the exact number wasn’t disclosed, the source estimated there were at least several dozen, possibly over a hundred Chinese businesspeople in the delegation. |
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