Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Macron's US Trip Was An Exercise In FUTILITY

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Ukraine Must Be Strong So That Diplomacy Can Work Successfully Through T...

Zelenskiyy's One-Day Media Blitz from The President's Office Broadcast Room | 25 February 2025

The Presidents of Ukraine and France Coordinated Next Steps for Achieving Guaranteed Peace

25 February 2025 - 22:47

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with President of France Emmanuel Macron to discuss the results of engagements with partners and coordinate the next steps.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with members of the European Parliament and the global parliamentary network "United for Ukraine."

"We are very grateful for your work and support at times when we truly need it. Thank you so much for the resolutions you have adopted in support of Ukraine. We appreciate your support for the sanction packages, and we are very pleased that the 16th sanctions package has been approved. This is very important for us," the President said.

In particular, during the meeting, specific steps needed to ensure future joint security were discussed. Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of making every possible effort to maintain unity between Ukraine, Europe, and the United States and to develop a unified position.

  • The President informed the participants of his contacts with European leaders to develop clear and reliable security guarantees and achieve a just and lasting peace.
The discussion also covered 
  1. the strengthening of sanctions against the shadow fleet of the Russian Federation, 
  2. the use of frozen Russian assets, 
  3. Ukraine's EU and NATO membership, and 
  4. continued security and defense cooperation.

The Head of State stressed that Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance is the most cost-effective and efficient security guarantee. 
At the same time, together with partners, it is necessary to do everything to preserve the Ukrainian army, strengthen air defense, and increase the scale of Ukraine's defense production, particularly long-range drones and artillery.

Members of the European Parliament assured that they support Ukraine's NATO membership and are ready to make every possible effort to further assist the Ukrainian people.

Ukraine must be strong so that diplomacy can work successfully through that strength. A great deal of diplomacy is already in motion, and developments will only speed up.

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

I spoke with President Macron about his visit to America; we are coordinating our actions. Emmanuel, thank you for your support! 

Today, I also spoke with the Prime Minister of Belgium. Particularly about assistance to Ukraine. Particularly about the use of frozen Russian assets. Particularly about joint actions and contacts at the level of the entire European Union.

Also, our team has already begun working on what our partners promised yesterday in Kyiv, at the Summit in Support of Ukraine
  • More than 40 Summit participants online and in person: leaders, other state representatives, international organizations. 
  • A separate meeting was held in a format with the Baltic and Nordic states, as well as a meeting of G7 leaders. 
  • I thank everyone who was truly principled on such a day – the day of the third anniversary of the beginning of the full-scale invasion. 
And we in Ukraine appreciate that our partners are ready not only to continue support for our state, our people, but also to increase it, so that we can swiftly achieve peace – an honest peace, one that guarantees that aggression will not be repeated. 
  1. This year, Britain will provide military assistance of more than 5.5 billion dollars. 
  2. Norway confirms assistance at the level of 3.5 billion dollars, and we also have support in the areas of energy security and humanitarian aid. 
  3. Spain – 1 billion euros this year, we highly appreciate such a focus on support. 
  4. Sweden is preparing to transfer air defense systems – thank you. 
  5. Denmark will provide an additional 285 million dollars for weapons and ammunition for our warriors. 
We are also working to expand our F-16 fleet – this year, we must reach all planned targets. 
  1. The Baltic states, together with the Nordics, will ensure the equipment and training of units equivalent to a brigade. And such measures are crucial for conducting rotations in our army – well-equipped and trained units are needed to support the guys on the front line. 
  2. Estonia has prepared a support package. Agreements have been reached with Lithuania on further joint defense steps, including the defense of the skies. 
Also, ahead of February 24, new sanctions decisions have been made against Russia for the war: 
  1. the European Union has approved a new package, and 
  2. there are also sanctions decisions from Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. 
I thank you all for your support! And more decisions will follow. 
We are actively preparing them now – meetings, agreements, negotiations. 
Ukraine must be strong so that diplomacy can work successfully through that strength. 
A great deal of diplomacy is already in motion, and developments will only speed up. 
We are preparing certain formats with our partners.

And one more thing. Today, I met with parliamentarians from the global parliamentary network of support for Ukraine, and this is important. 

  • We have built diplomatic contacts at all levels – from leaders and parliaments to the media and many public organizations. 
  • All of this is to withstand this war and to end it with dignity – precisely as our people, the Ukrainian nation, deserve. 
  • A nation that fights so bravely earns respect. 
And that respect translates into concrete steps of support from partners. I am proud of all our people. And every country that is helping us in Ukraine now is, in fact, helping itself – to preserve a global order in which human life matters.

Glory to Ukraine!



ARE THEY SABOTAGE OR ACCIDENT???? ---------- Europe’s Severed Undersea Cables: Why NATO Suspects Russia and China | WSJ

WORRYING SIGNS FOR BULLS Bloomberg

Wall Street Gamblers Get Crushed as Leveraged ETF Losses Hit 40%

Wall Street Gamblers Get Crushed as Leveraged ETF Losses Hit 40% 

(Bloomberg) -- They were all the rage on the way up: high-risk, high-return exchange-traded funds, minted in bulk by Wall Street product managers in the euphoria of the post-election bull market. 

Now these speculative products are dealing their owners a gut punch after a series of disappointing economic reports and anxiety over US trade policy have put a brake on risk tolerance across the markets.

From leveraged bets on highly-valued tech companies to esoteric option plays and all manner of cryptocurrency flyers, the selloff that has sent major US stock indexes down for four straight days is being felt the most in fringe ETFs that have been popular among retail traders.

In one stark example, two levered ETFs tied to Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin-hoarding company Strategy, which were together worth more than $5 billion at one point, are down about 40% in three days. Leveraged funds, promising two times the daily performance of Nvidia Corp., Tesla Inc., Amazon.com Inc. have tumbled. Triple-leveraged bets on innovation and semiconductor stocks have slid 20%.

“Momentum can work great when it’s in your favor but when it’s not watch out,” said Max Wasserman, senior portfolio manager at Miramar Capital. “It’s like catching a falling knife.”


Pinpointing the immediate catalyst for the selloff is difficult, but selling pressure rose appreciably on Friday after reports on existing home sales, consumer sentiment and business activity trailed estimates. On Tuesday, the Conference Board said US consumer confidence fell this month by the most since August 2021 on concerns about the outlook for the broader economy, adding to evidence that uncertainty around the Trump administration’s policies is weighing on households.

Exchange-traded products like the ones tied to Nvidia use derivatives to amplify returns or provide inverse performance and have gotten caught in previous market meltdowns. Still, retail investors have flocked to them, drawn in by the promise of big returns. They remain a small but rapidly growing corner of the equity universe, with most of them focused on bullish bets. An analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence showed that earlier this month some $95 billion of assets were housed in products using derivatives to make long bets on single stocks or indexes, while strategies betting on declines had $9 billion.

High-risk, high-return ETFs are tumbling after a series of disappointing economic reports and anxiety over US trade policy.

 

Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P Live Updates for February 25 - Bloomberg
Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P Live Updates for February 25 - Bloomberg

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