>What's going on in Yemen and why are "Iran-backed militants attacking cargo ships"?
Using Houthis like they do Hezbollah and Hamas to destabilize the area
>What's cargo?
Depends on the ship
Children? Child trafficking?
Ayatollas have no concern about children
>Why is Iran stopping child trafficking in cargo containers inside cargo ships? Good question.
Iran is getting even for years of sanctions by putting a monkey wrench in World Trade
Canada #54 >>20475696
Rothschild clans battling over bank clients – Bloomberg
The Swiss and French branches are leveraging the family name in a bid to control the global wealth-management market
The Rothschild family’s Swiss and French branches are battling for dominance in the wealth management industry, which is causing tension and sparking speculation of a merger that would significantly impact the global financial landscape, Bloomberg wrote this week.
The Swiss private bank, Edmond de Rothschild Group, and the smaller French lender, Rothschild & Co., are the only remaining banks with links to the family whose name has been a synonym for wealth and power for more than two centuries.
The Rothschild family emerged from the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt in the 19th century to become one of the world’s richest and most powerful financial dynasties that bankrolled wars and empires, and helped shape Europe’s economic and political history.
After decades of operating in relatively different segments, the Swiss and French branches are now targeting the same wealthy clients. The odds of a merger within the renowned family are now rising as both banks are fighting for a bigger share of the $250 trillion global wealth management industry, the outlet said.
“They are now targeting similar clients,” said Christoph Kunzle, a lecturer on wealth management at Zurich University of Applied Sciences. “It’s very competitive and their centuries-old name is a big asset that they are both trying to leverage.”
The Paris-based Rothschild & Co. run by Alexandre de Rothschild, the 43-year-old seventh-generation scion is the smaller of the two banks. The bank had over €102 billion ($110 billion) in assets under management in mid-2023. However, it has been growing rapidly by opening more offices in the same segment, rivaling its Swiss peer.
An aggressive expansion comes as the Swiss-based Edmond de Rothschild led by Baroness Ariane de Rothschild grapples with a stagnating business, the article stated. At the end of 2022, assets under management in the bank were down to 158 billion Swiss francs ($179 billion) from 178 billion the previous year.
Meanwhile, over the past few years, the Paris-based firm has opened wealth-management offices in Italy, Luxemburg, UK and even made some acquisitions in Switzerland, Ariane’s backyard.
Experts also point to confusion among customers as two separate Rothschild businesses are moving into each other’s territories.
“Among consumers there is definitely confusion between the two,” said Declan Ahern, a strategy and valuations director at Brand Finance.
Experts say a merger would give heft to the Rothschild empire in a globalized economy, where the lines between tradition and innovation are increasingly blurred. The two banks are too small when set against industry behemoths such as Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG or even Swiss private banks Julius Baer and Banque Pictet.
“There is a need for consolidation, notably for small wealth managers due to the increase in costs and regulation,” said Nicolas Payen, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux. “A rule for the industry now is that they need size.”
The idea of joining forces has been proposed by the French branch in the past, but turned down by the Swiss side. Baroness Ariane has repeatedly rejected the move even though some of her high-ranking private bankers believed a rapprochement would make sense. The 58-year-old CEO of the Swiss bank is now reportedly eyeing a near-term expansion in the oil-rich Middle East and much promising Asian market.
“On the one side there is an economic rationale, on the other there is personal pride,” said Philippe Pelé-Clamour, adjunct professor at the HEC Paris business school.
He believes that the period of “egos and disputes” is relatively short against the backdrop of their 200-year history and forecasts that a merger of the two branches could take place within a generation.
https://www.rt.com/business/592880-rothschild-family-banks-switzerland-france/
160 Tons Of Ukrainian Grain Destroyed In Poland
Reporting by Dan Peleschuk and Alan Charlish February 25, 2024
KYIV, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Around 160 tons of Ukrainian grain was destroyed at a Polish railway station amid large-scale protests in what a senior Ukrainian official said on Sunday was an act of “impunity and irresponsibility”.
Polish farmers protesting this month against what they say is unfair competition from Ukraine and European Union environment regulations have blocked border crossings with Ukraine and motorways, and spilled Ukrainian produce from train wagons.
“These pictures show 160 tons of destroyed Ukrainian grain. The grain was in transit to the port of Gdansk and then to other countries,” Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov posted on X with photographs of mounds of grain spilled from train wagons.
These pictures show 160 tons of destroyed Ukrainian grain. The grain was in transit to the port of Gdansk and then to other countries.
The fourth case of vandalism at Polish railway stations. The fourth case of impunity and irresponsibility.
How long will the government and… pic.twitter.com/fMVdtBgl3i
— Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) February 25, 2024
“The fourth case of vandalism at Polish railway stations. The fourth case of impunity and irresponsibility.”
Previous incidents of grain being spilled from trains took place on the border with Ukraine.
Read Also: Planes, Trains & Automobiles Can’t Move Ukraine Grain, Here’s Why
“We know that protests that take the form of spilling grain are not good,” Polish Agriculture Minister Czeslaw Siekierski told a news conference. But he added that he thought that sometimes the reaction to such incidents from the Ukrainian side went too far.
Lidia Kowalska, a police spokesperson from the northern Polish city of Bydgoszcz, said the incident took place in the nearby village of Kotomierz and the product spilled was corn.
“The details and circumstances are being investigated,” she told Reuters. “At 0930 we received a report about grain that had spilled out, it turned out that it was from eight wagons.”
https://gcaptain.com/160-tons-of-ukrainian-grain-destroyed-in-poland/
US, British Forces Carry Out More Strikes Against Houthis In Yemen
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali February 25, 2024
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – U.S. and British forces carried out strikes against more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, officials said, the latest round of military action against the Iran-linked group that continues to attack shipping in the region.
The United States has carried out near daily strikes against the Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and have said their attacks on shipping are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza.
The strikes have so far failed to halt the Houthis’ attacks, which have upset global trade and raised shipping rates.
A joint statement from countries that either took part in the strikes or provided support, said the military action was against 18 Houthi targets across eight locations in Yemen including underground weapons and missile storage facilities, air defense systems, radars and a helicopter.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the strikes were meant “to further disrupt and degrade the capabilities of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia.”
“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries,” Austin said.
The strikes were supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi movement, said on Saturday that U.S. and UK forces carried out a series of strikes in the capital, Sanaa.
It quoted an unnamed Houthi military source as saying the renewed raids were “a miserable attempt to prevent Yemen from providing support operations to the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Earlier this week the Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a UK-owned cargo ship and a drone assault on a U.S. destroyer, and they targeted Israel’s port and resort city of Eilat with ballistic missiles and drones.
The group’s strikes are disrupting the vital Suez Canal shortcut that accounts for about 12% of global maritime traffic, forcing a longer, more expensive route around Africa.
No ships have been sunk nor crew killed during the Houthi campaign. However there are concerns about the fate of the UK-registered Rubymar cargo vessel, which was struck on Feb. 18 and its crew evacuated. The U.S. military has said the Rubymar was carrying more than 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was hit, which could spill into the Red Sea and cause an environmental disaster.
The European Union has launched a naval mission to the Red Sea “to restore and safeguard freedom of navigation.”
The United States has a parallel coalition, Operation Prosperity Guardian, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in from attacks by the Houthis.
https://gcaptain.com/us-british-forces-carry-out-more-strikes-against-houthis-in-yemen/
Darn, hadn't seen it before, thought it'd be nice to share