ty baker
The second leg of the Turkish Stream pipeline will go through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday (26 July).
The Gazprom-sponsored pipeline Turkish Stream, also called TurkStream, will pump 31.5 billion cubic metres per year (bcm/y) of Russian gas to Europe under the Black Sea, helping Moscow limit the gas transit through Ukraine. Its entry point is on the European territory of Turkey, not far from Bulgaria and Greece.
What was less clear is which way the Russian gas will take further. Part of it, brought by the first leg of the pipeline, will be used on Turkish territory, mainly for the city of Istanbul. The direct supply replaces the current transit via Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria.
Novak said the first leg of the gas pipeline was expected to start operating on 1 January 2020, which was already announced by Gazprom. The real news is Russia’s choice for the route of the second leg via Bulgaria, and not Greece.
This obviously means that the existing pipeline between Bulgaria and Turkey will be reversed, and that gas will start flowing in the opposite direction.
https://www.eurasiareview.com/29072019-russia-says-second-leg-of-turkish-stream-to-go-via-bulgaria-not-greece/
U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators also meet in Shanghai this week for their first in-person talks since a G20 truce last month, but expectations are low for a breakthrough.
Data out over the weekend showed profits earned by China’s industrial firms contracted in June, fuelling concerns that the bruising trade war will drag on economic growth.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that both sides can agree on a narrow agreement that addresses important trade-related issues, such as U.S. demands to increase exports,” said analysts at Barclays in a note.
“That said, we are skeptical about the prospects of a broader agreement that includes the more challenging security-related issues.”
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was all but flat in slow trade. Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.1% and E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 lost 0.06%.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-idUSKCN1UO01G?utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&utm_content=5d3e4c40595b5a0001c357db&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
A political crisis over leadership in the US Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico took another turn Sunday when the designated successor to embattled governor Ricardo Rossello said she didn't want the job
Lithium miners are bulking up for a booming future when electric cars go mainstream. But speed bumps loom, with prices tumbling on a burst of new production and demand growth slowing in China.
Between mid-2015 and mid-2018, prices for lithium, the soft, silvery-white metal crucial for rechargeable batteries, almost tripled as the world’s fleet of electric vehicles hit the 5 million mark, and the auto industry began to fret over the supply of raw materials.
That sparked the opening of six lithium mines in Australia since 2017 as companies raced to gain from an evolving technology. But while the EV boom is coming, it isn’t here yet. Sales growth is slowing in China, the top market, and the drive to fill the battery supply chain has cooled. The result: A 30% price plunge for lithium that’s spurring concern over where the bottom may lie.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-28/the-lithium-mine-buildup-is-outpacing-the-electric-car-boom?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter