Number of refugees from Ukraine in selected countries as of 30.10.2022
UNHCR
Canada will provide CAD115 million (about $84.9 million at current exchange rates) to urgently restore Ukraine’s energy system, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said.
“As the people of Ukraine continue their heroic resistance, we must all do even more to enable them to endure this struggle. That’s why Canada will provide $115 million from tariff revenues from imports from Russia and Belarus to urgently restore Kiev’s energy system,” she wrote on Twitter.
Canada’s Finance Ministry recalled in a press release Tuesday that on March 2, Canada became the first country to remove most-favoured-nation status for imports from Russia and Belarus, resulting in a 35% tariff on virtually all goods entering Canada from those two countries.
In June, G7 leaders pledged to explore ways to use revenues generated by tariff measures against Russia to help Ukraine. “As the first G7 country to fulfill this commitment, Canada will provide Ukraine with $115 million (Canadian) – the amount of expected tariff revenues from Russian and Belarusian goods – as part of the World Bank’s Re-PoWER Ukraine Project,” the Canadian Treasury said.
It recalled that this fund was recently established to facilitate grants from international partners to restore basic energy services in Ukraine.
Since Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion, Canada has already provided Ukraine with a total of CAD2 billion in direct financial assistance in 2022 and an additional CAD500 million in bonds in support of Ukrainian sovereignty earlier this month. This year, Canada has also provided over CAD2.5 billion in military, humanitarian and other assistance to Ukraine.
A petition demanding to veto the draft law No.5655 on reforming the sphere of urban planning, posted on the website of the President of Ukraine, has collected more than 25 thousand votes on the day of its adoption by the Parliament.
Now the petition should be considered by the head of state.
“New town-planning regulations under the guise of liberalizing the urban planning sphere and accelerating the construction actually untie the hands of large developers, who now do not have to go through checks from local authorities. Checks of construction and documentation of the project can be carried out by private firms, and the role of chief architects of the cities in this process is greatly restricted. If the law is adopted by the majority of deputies of the Verkhovna Rada at the next session, the process of chaotic development of our cities and the desecration of historical monuments will be accelerated,” – says the text of the petition.
As it was reported, on December 13, the Verkhovna Rada passed the bill as a whole #5655. It was voted for by 228 deputies.
Earlier, on December 1, 2022, the bill was withdrawn from consideration by Parliament. The Association of Ukrainian Cities, mayors, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, and the National Union of Architects of Ukraine insisted on its revision.
The U.S. dollar weakly appreciates against the euro and the pound sterling during the trading on Wednesday, continues to weaken in pair with the yen.
The day before the American currency plummeted in price following the release of the U.S. Labor Department data which showed a significant slowdown in inflation in the United States in November.
Last month consumer prices (CPI) rose by 7.1% year-on-year – the lowest since December 2021. The rate of inflation was down from 7.7% in October. Experts polled by Market Watch had on average expected a less significant slowdown to 7.3%.
The published statistics boosted investor hopes that the Federal Reserve (Fed) could halt the cycle of prime rate hikes sooner than previously expected.
The Fed concludes its two-day meeting on Wednesday. An overwhelming majority of experts expect the U.S. central bank to slow the pace of rate hikes in December after increasing it by 75 basis points (bps) at the end of the previous four meetings. The rate is expected to rise by 50 basis points to 4.25-4.5% at the December 13-14 meeting.
The euro/dollar pair traded at $1.0629 as of 8:00 a.m. Kk on Wednesday, compared to $1.0634 at the close of the previous session.
The pound exchange rate is $1.2257 by that time against $.2365 the day before.
The dollar fell to 135.44 yen against 135.59 yen at the previous trading session.
On Tuesday the American currency fell by 0.9% against the euro, by 0.8% against the pound and by 1.5% against the yen.
Meetings of the European Central Bank (ECB), the Bank of England as well as the Swiss and Norwegian central banks will also take place this week.
The European Central Bank, which meets on Thursday, may also slow the pace of key rate hikes to 50bp after increasing them by 75bp in October and September, experts expect.
The Bank of England, like the ECB, will hold a meeting on December 15. Analysts expect the British Central Bank, which raised its prime rate in November by 75 basis points. – maximum since 1989, will also decide to slow the rate increase to 50 bp.
EURO, pound, U.S. dollar, yen
Oil prices are falling slightly on Wednesday after a strong rise in the previous session.
The market rise on Tuesday was promoted by the forecasts of a cold snap in the USA and also by the weakening of the dollar after the publication of the statistical data, which showed a slowdown in inflation in the states in November.
In addition, the market continues to be supported by the situation with the Keystone pipeline, which was closed last week, and expectations of increased demand in China as a result of the easing of quarantine restrictions, Market Watch said.
The cost of February futures for Brent crude oil on London’s ICE Futures Exchange was $80.51 a barrel by 7:10 a.m. KSC on Wednesday, down $0.17 (0.21%) from the previous session’s closing price. Those contracts rose $2.69 (3.5%) to $80.68 a barrel at the close of trading on Monday.
The price of WTI futures for January oil fell by $0.11 (0.15%) to $75.28 per barrel at electronic trades of New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) by that time. By the close of previous trading the cost of these contracts increased by $2.22 (3%) to $75.39 a barrel.
Canada’s TC Energy, the operator of Keystone, plans to partially open the pipeline Wednesday and fully return it to service Dec. 20, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
The focus for traders Wednesday is last week’s U.S. energy inventory data, to be released by the Energy Department at 5:30 p.m. CSC.
American Petroleum Institute (API) data released the day before showed a 7.819 million barrel increase in U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Dec. 9.
Insurance company “Busin” (Kyiv) in January-September 2022 collected UAH 151.9 million of gross premiums, which is 71.57% less than a year earlier, the rating agency “Standard-Rating” reported in the information on updating the credit rating / financial strength rating of the insurer at the level of “uaAA+” on the national scale based on the analysis of its reporting for the specified period.
It is noted that the proceeds from individuals for this period decreased by 48.05% – to UAH 1.175 million, from reinsurers more than doubled – to UAH 23.714 million.
Insurance payments sent to reinsurers for the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021 decreased by 77.76% – to UAH 105.182 million. As a result, the reinsurers’ participation ratio in insurance premiums decreased to 69.26%.
Net premiums decreased by 23.70% – to UAH 46.682 million, earned premiums – by 30.91%, to UAH 52.596 million.
For three quarters of 2022, the company paid UAH 649 thousand of insurance indemnities, which is 76.59% less than in the same period of 2021. Thus, the level of payments decreased by 0.09 p.p. to 0.43%.
The financial result from operating activities of the IC amounted to UAH 11.269 million, net profit increased almost sixfold to UAH 41.863 million.
The company’s assets as of September 30, 2022 decreased by 34.66% to UAH 421.839 million, equity increased by 19.78% to UAH 180.522 million, liabilities decreased by 51.23% to UAH 241.317 million, cash and cash equivalents increased by 13.50% to UAH 197.89 million.
IC “Busin” was registered in February 1993. It specializes in risky types of insurance. It is a member of a number of professional and industry associations – League of Insurance Organizations of Ukraine, National Club of Insurance Payments, International Association of Aviation Insurers (UA), Nuclear Insurance Pool, American Chamber in Ukraine, British Business Club.
