https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/yuan-bonds-to-debut-on-the-russian-market

Yuan bonds to debut on the Russian market

Russia plans to return to local bond sales after a six-month pause, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. Also, the Kremlin reportedly wants Chinese yuan-denominated debt to help the Russian market recover.

The report highlighted that ruble bonds could likely be back on the market in the second half of September. Meanwhile, the report added, the debut of yuan bonds on the Russian market won’t happen until next year.

“A long-mulled plan to debut Chinese currency notes locally is being dusted off with fresh urgency as yuan trading volumes surge after sanctions shut Russia out of its traditional markets in the US and Europe,” an unnamed source said.

Trading volumes between the Chinese currency and the Russian ruble have grown 40-fold since the start of the year, as per Bloomberg data.

“With hundreds of millions of dollars coming into government coffers from energy revenue each day, the government has no need to borrow now, and sales of yuan debt would serve solely as a benchmark for companies looking to tap the market,” the source was quoted as saying.

Russia’s biggest gold miner, Polyus and aluminum giant Rusal International have already started transacting in the yuan, according to reports.

The Chinese foreign ministry told TASS in March that it did not rule out the possibility of using rubles or yuans in energy commerce with Russia.

When asked if China is ready to use rubles or yuans for Russian energy sources instead of the US dollar, the ministry responded by saying "Market players are free to choose the currency in bilateral settlements," adding that "the use of own national currencies in the process of regular trade and economic cooperation may help avoid currency risks and reduce losses stemming from currency exchange."

According to Beijing, Chinese enterprises want to utilize rubles or yuans in commerce with Russia on an equitable and mutually advantageous basis, taking market developments into consideration. "Naturally, we will use currency of other countries due to various considerations," the ministry said.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/art-culture/ozzy-osbourne-to-leave-fking-crazy-us-for-uk-blames-gun-viol

Ozzy Osbourne to leave "f**king crazy" US for UK, blames gun violence

Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne has declared that the “f**king ridiculous” number of mass shootings pushed him to return to his native home of England and leave the lush life of Los Angeles behind. However, it is suspected that his ill health conditions and rising taxes in the US could also have influenced the upcoming move.

In an interview with The Observer on Sunday, Osbourne, known as the ‘Prince of Darkness’, announced his plans to return to England with his wife Sharon early next year after having listed their Los Angeles mansion is currently on the market, and are renovating their home in Buckinghamshire to prepare for the move.

“Everything’s fking ridiculous there,” Osbourne said, referring to the US. “I’m fed up with people getting killed every day. God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert… It’s fking crazy.”

2021 was the worst year on record for mass shootings in the US, and according to data from the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), 2022 is seemingly on track to raise the bar again.

There were 687 mass shootings in 2021 alone, which left at least 684 dead, and hit a high record for gun sales with 17 million guns sold just between January and November 2021. Just in the last 10 years, gun manufacturers made over $1 billion from selling semiautomatic weapons such as the AR-15, which is commonly used in most mass shootings. The number of school shootings in the United States has been exponentially rising as of late, surging to reach 193 documented incidents during the last academic year. However, while different organizations use different techniques to classify and define a “mass shooting”, the firearm homicide rate in the United States reached its highest level since 1994 during the first year of the Covid pandemic, with significant racial and class disparities, according to a CDC report released Tuesday.

The latest school shooting to shake the United States took place in late May when an 18-year-old boy carried out a mass shooting that claimed the lives of at least 21 people at an elementary school in Texas. He used two weapons, which include an AR15-style automatic rifle. The recent spree of tragic shootings in the US has pushed guns to the forefront of a national debate as US leaders grapple with how to reduce the alarming rate of violence, with the latest today in Detroit that left four people injured and three dead.

“I don’t want to die in America, I don’t want to be buried in f**king Forest Lawn,” Osbourne expressed as he referred to the Los Angeles cemetery where Hollywood stars Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor and Humphrey Bogart are buried.

“America has changed so drastically,” his wife Sharon stated. “It isn’t the United States of America at all. Nothing’s united about it. It’s a very weird place to live right now.” According to the Public Policy Institute of California, so far in 2022, the state has averaged one mass shooting every week.

Regarding financial factors, while the Osbournes are worth an estimated $220 million, Ozzy told The Mirror earlier this year that “the tax is getting too much” for the family to stay in California. “We are leaving LA. We are a bit sad, if they do the taxes better then I may come back,” he added.

>> 17 million music to my ears