Global funds investing in cryptocurrency assets experienced a $19.6 billion investment outflow in November amid the collapse of digital currencies and the bankruptcy of the FTX exchange, writes The Wall Street Journal citing data from research company CryptoCompare.
Thus, cryptocurrency funds lost about 14.5% of all assets under management, and the cumulative figure fell to its lowest level since December 2020.
Bitcoin and ether (Ethereum) make up the lion’s share of the funds’ investments, and they also invest in exchange-traded instruments and other products.
CryptoCompare tracks the performance of 20 funds, and 19 of them showed negative returns in November. The only fund that remained positive specializes in betting on bitcoin decline: its yield was 18.2%.
The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC), after reviewing the finalized version of draft law No. 5655 on the reform of urban planning activities, assessed it as inconsistent with the anti-corruption strategy and recommends finalizing the draft law.
“According to the anticorruption strategy for 2021-2025 the priority spheres for introduction of anticorruption measures are determined, in particular construction, land relations and infrastructure. The problems in this area are determined, among others, by the imperfection of the existing instruments of control and lack of transparency in the construction processes. After reviewing the finalized version of the draft law, it was found that the proposed wording does not solve the problems identified and is therefore not consistent with the anti-corruption strategy,” – said deputy chairman of the NACP Andriy Vishnevetskiy in a letter to the specialized committee of the Verkhovna Rada, the agency “Interfax-Ukraine” got acquainted with.
Thus, the comments and recommendations of the NAPC among other things noted that the bill number 5655 does not provide a mechanism for remedying violations of the law identified through the implementation of supervision, there are no sanctions for the objects of supervision in the case of violations and it is not indicated how these violations must be resolved. There is also no procedure for cancellation of the right of construction obtained on the basis of submitted documents that contradict the urban planning legislation. That is why it is suggested to provide for a procedure of termination of the right for construction and annulment of permits in case of violation revealed by the supervisory authority.
The draft law No. 5655 suggests supplementing the law “On regulation of town planning activity” with new Article 383 and stipulating that a construction object constructed or under construction in violation of restrictions of land use cannot be considered as unauthorized construction if such restrictions are not stated in the town planning conditions and restrictions and/or are not included into the State Land Cadastre.
“The above circumstances practically legalize construction in violation of restrictions on land use. Regarding the availability of information about the restrictions of land use in the State Land Cadastre it should be noted that the information entered in the State Land Cadastre is incomplete, is in a state of creation and may not contain data about a particular plot of land,” reads the comments.
In this case NAPK recommends to provide as a reason for refusal to grant urban conditions and restrictions (UZK) inconsistency of data and information in order to obtain UZK to the requirements of urban planning documents, and during the development of projects and examination to establish compliance with the requirements of urban planning documents at the local level. In addition, NAPC filed a number of other proposals.
Ukrainian private clinics in blackout conditions find opportunities to continue their work and provide medical services to citizens, results of a survey conducted by Interfax-Ukraine.
For example, the private ophthalmology center of family ophthalmology Zorkoclinic noted that since the beginning of full-scale hostilities the clinic has continued to work, providing people with ophthalmic care wherever possible.
“Blackouts really hurt us because it’s impossible to work effectively in a blackout. Most of the equipment has to be plugged in. Most, but not all, so we have completely revised the logistics of our customers and agreed on a certain procedure”, – said in Zorkoclinic.
It was explained that during blackouts the clinic treats patients who can be treated without electricity, in particular those with inflammatory eye diseases, eye injuries, as well as those who need to monitor the intraocular pressure and fundus examinations, because the equipment required for this purpose runs off-line on batteries. In addition, the clinic is developing an online consultation service.
At the same time, Zorkoclinic reported that they plan to connect their own generator at the end of November, as there is not enough battery power for full operation.
The main problem faced by the clinic’s physicians during the blackout was the lack of resources for the urgent purchase of everything necessary to establish an autonomous system of work, coordinating the connection of the generator to the common system and the lack of communication, as well as the provision of heating and water.
“The clinic rooms are electrically heated, so it is currently quite chilly in the rooms. We are considering installing large thermoses so that warm water is available all the time for both staff and clients. We buy water for drinking, as always, but the technical water should be kept at the ready”, – they explained to the agency.
They also noted problems with communication, to solve which helped the Internet provider, whose services are used by the clinic, providing a continuous connection to the Internet.
“While we understood a clear schedule of outages, we carefully planned the appointments with the schedule in mind. Now we very much agree with clients that we will call them as soon as the lights come on. This is very disciplined everyone, and clients are sympathetic to this, “- stressed in Zorkoclinic.
In turn, the Medical Group of Companies (MGC) Adonis said that, in particular, their clinic in Sofievskaya Borschagivka in Kiev is working in normal mode and receives patients according to the schedule, and a maternity hospital takes women in labor around the clock. At the same time, planned and emergency hospitalization and urgent care continue.
Adonis noted that the clinic has an autonomous power supply system, so there is light in each unit 24/7, which allows patients to continue inpatient care even during a power outage.
“At first, because of the blackout, we had to deal with a number of organizational issues urgently, such as delivering technical and potable water and finding fuel for the generators. But now the branch has a large inventory and is ready for any calls of the present. The clinic is stocked with everything we need. Therefore, our and the patients are in comfortable conditions, have unlimited access to drinking water, have the ability to charge their gadgets, “- commented in the clinic of the problems faced by doctors because of blackouts.
At the same time MGC Adonis branch on Podol also works 24/7, is provided with water, and a generator works in case of power outage. All kinds of services are provided there, such as consultations, diagnostics, laboratory tests, surgical interventions, in-patient department and ambulance service.
Adonis on Osokorki also works in the normal mode and accepts patients according to the schedule. The cryobank and the embryological laboratory in the IVF department of the clinic are additionally provided with stable backup power supply, but currently the ultrasound diagnostics does not work during power outages.
MGK Adonis noted that the clinics are provided with generators and the needs of the clinics are covered by 100%. In addition, there are separate power sources for both the outpatient and surgical units and the embryology laboratory. Surgical and inpatient medical care at Adonis is provided in the branches, which operate 24/7.
That said, Adonis pointed out that when dealing with power issues, they “found themselves in a strange situation where the local housing community was blocking the installation of additional power generators.”
“We found a compromise solution and are now in the process of setting up a generator that will supply our patients’ needs, including surgical patients, 100 percent. The clinic is equipped with everything we need. Our patients are comfortable, have unlimited access to drinking water, and can charge their gadgets. Heat is supplied centrally,” the company said.
In turn, the medical network “Dobrobut” reported that as of November 29, most of its 16 medical centers are equipped with generators, and some clinics are still working on installation of battery power.
Both of Dobrobut’s hospitals (on Semya Idzikovskikh St. and Lubomir Guzar St. in Kiev) have autonomous power sources, and their patients continue to receive all necessary medical care and assistance.
“We continue to provide all types of medical care. In particular, you can receive any type of medical care round the clock in our large hospital at 3 Idzikovskikh St., where even in the absence of power supply the hospital, admission department, intensive care unit, surgical operating rooms continue to work and outpatient care is provided. Instrumental diagnostic equipment, including MRI, CT, ultrasound, as well as laboratory equipment, i.e. it is possible to make tests,” – the company said.
At the same time, in other clinics of the network, even during the blackout period, outpatient reception continues, laboratory tests can be done, and in some units it is still possible to make ultrasound and other available instrumental diagnostic services.
At the same time, the clinic stressed that in unpredictable situations, when, for example, the generator does not start, physicians warn patients about the situation and other possibilities of the network clinics.
“Before the visit, you can call the call center “Dobrobut”, and in case there is no connection, but there is access to the Internet, we have created electronic boxes, which can be used to make an appointment or ask a question. If there is no connection at all, you can simply come to any of the Dobrobut medical centers.
That said, even during alarm and curfew times, Dobrobut continues to have emergency care available.
“All clinics have an ample supply of drinking water, Dobrobut coffee shops continue to operate, where you can buy hot tea and coffee, as well as snacks with warm food,” the nurse specified.
The company also reported on its plans to soon open a large hospital on the left bank of the Dnieper River in Kiev, where an in-patient department will operate and a powerful generator will be installed to cover all medical needs of the medical center. However, the company noted that under conditions of constant stabilization and emergency shutdowns, it is quite difficult to plan and carry out technical work on the installation of generators. Accordingly, installation work takes longer.
The Leleka Medical Center, when asked by Interfax-Ukraine, said that their center continues to operate from the generator, to which all critical units are connected, so there is water, heat and light.
“We are provided with everything: both heat and water due to engineering system solutions, which was thought out back during construction in 2015. We provide all medical services as usual. There are generators that allow us to continue working, conducting consultations, taking tests, diagnostics, surgical interventions, deliveries, resuscitation assistance. Medical equipment is working and food is being prepared,” the clinic reported.
The main problem associated with the blackout is the high cost of fuel for the generator. “It’s more expensive than electricity,” the medical center explained,
“There are cell phone and Internet outages during blackouts that we can’t affect. But it doesn’t affect patient safety, it just adds some service inconvenience,” the clinic clarified.
Blackouts, DOBROBUT, KIEV, Private clinics, Zorkoclinic, АДОНИС, Лелека
The U.S. dollar is declining against major currencies in trading on Thursday morning after a speech the day before by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The ICE-calculated index, which shows the U.S. dollar’s performance against six currencies (euro, Swiss franc, yen, Canadian dollar, pound sterling and Swedish krona), is down 0.4%, while the broader WSJ Dollar Index is losing 0.6%.
During a speech at the Brookings Institution on Wednesday, Powell reiterated that the Fed could slow the rise in the prime rate as early as December. “The time to moderate the pace of rate hikes may come as early as the next meeting,” Powell said.
The Fed chairman, meanwhile, tried to balance those words with “hawkish” signals, Market Watch notes. He said that the U.S. Central Bank will have to raise the rate higher than could be expected a few months ago. In addition, Powell made it clear that the issue of rate cuts is irrelevant at the moment.
Another Fed official, Board of Governors member Lisa Cook is confident that the regulator needs to keep raising the rate because inflation is still too high. “We’ve started to get more favorable inflation data. But I would be cautious about drawing big conclusions on just one month’s worth of data,” Cook said during a speech at the Detroit Economic Club.
The euro/dollar pair as of 8:00 a.m. Ksk traded at $1.0445 versus $1.0410 at the close of Wednesday’s session.
The dollar/yen was down to 136.43 yen from 138.05 yen at the end of the previous session.
The pound is trading at $1.2103 versus $1.2058 the day before.
Passenger flow through western border of Ukraine in Sept 2022, thousand (graphically)
Data: State Border Service
Oil prices show weak negative dynamics on Thursday morning after a 3% jump a day earlier.
February futures for Brent crude oil on London’s ICE Futures Exchange fell by $0.28 (0.32%) – to $86.69 per barrel by 7:17 a.m. Kk. The previous day the price of these contracts grew by 3.2% up to $86.97 per barrel. The cost of January Brent futures, which expired on Wednesday, grew by 2.9%, reaching $85.43 per barrel.
WTI futures for January delivery on NYMEX fell by $0.22 (0.27%) to $80.33 per barrel by the same time. Those contracts rose 3% on Wednesday to $80.55 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Brent was down 9.9% in November, while WTI gained 6.9%, mostly on investors’ concerns about lower demand in China due to new lockdowns caused by coronavirus outbreak.
On Wednesday the oil market, however, was supported by the news that the authorities of the People’s Republic of China softened the anti-covids measures in a number of cities and provinces, including Beijing. Investors expect official Beijing to abandon its zero tolerance policy to the coronavirus after mass protests in the country earlier this week.
Moreover, the official data of the US Department of Energy showed a weekly drop of oil reserves by 12.58 mln barrels to 419.08 mln barrels. Meanwhile, experts expected reserves decline by only 3.12 mln barrels.
The market’s attention is gradually shifting to the OPEC+ meeting to be held on December 4. Some analysts expect that the alliance may decide on further reduction of production quotas.
