An era came to a close in Europe on the first day of 2025 >>>
Russian gas exports via Soviet-era pipelines running through Ukraine came to a halt on New Year's Day, marking the end of five decades of Moscow's dominance over Europe's energy markets, as well as cheap gas that kept Germany's economy humming. The gas had kept flowing despite nearly three years of war, but Russia's gas firm Gazprom said it had stopped at 0500 GMT after Ukraine refused to renew a transit agreement. European natural gas prices have been rising all year and closed 2024 more than doubling from their February lows. There is a risk they will only keep rising now. The European Commission said the EU had prepared for the cut-off. Indeed, the EU has slashed its dependence on Russian energy since the start of the war in Ukraine by buying more piped gas from Norway and LNG from Qatar and the United States. "The European gas infrastructure is flexible enough to provide gas of non-Russian origin," a spokesperson for the Commission said. "It has been reinforced with significant new LNG (liquefied natural gas) import capacities since 2022." The biggest beneficiary of said LNG imports is, of course, the US which has seen its LNG exports to Europe soar since the Ukraine war and since the US blew up the Nordstream pipeline, making (expensive) US sourced LNG one of the few realistic alternatives for Europe. In other words, Europe has gone from relying entirely on cheap Russian gas to relying entirely on expensive US LNG. Source: zerohedge
Europe has gone from relying entirely on cheap Russian gas to relying entirely on expensive US LNG
Source: zerohedge
Germany’s Dax index ended the year 2024 with a 18.85% gain after 20.3% rally in 2023
meaning the German benchmark index concluded its biggest 2-year run in more than a decade, even though Germany's GDP shrank in 2023 and probably also in 2024. 👉 SAP, Siemens Energy and Rheinmetall are among top performers. 👉 Chinese competition and lagging demand weigh on automakers. Source: Bloomberg, HolgerZ
Italy and France are exceeding the EU’s 3% of GDP deficit rule by nearly double!
Chart: @robin_j_brooks, Alex Joosten @joosteninvestor
In Germany, Gas storage levels have fallen to 83.3% due to colder weather, marking the lowest level for the end of December since Russia's war against Ukraine began.
By comparison, storage levels were 91% full in 2023 and 88% in 2022. Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg
As mentioned by Michel A. Arouet on X: If it wasn’t so sad, it would be quite funny
Source: Michel A. Arouet on X
France Adds First Nuclear Reactor in 25 Years to the Grid
France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF announced. This marks the first addition to the country's nuclear power network in 25 years. The reactor, which began operating in September before being connected to the grid, is coming online 12 years later than originally planned and at a cost of approximately 13 billion euros—four times the initial budget. EDF is planning to construct six additional reactors to meet a 2022 pledge made by President Emmanuel Macron as part of France's energy transition plans. However, questions remain regarding the funding and timeline for these new projects. source : reuters
What has happened in Poland is nothing short of an economic miracle. Hard work and entrepreneurial spirit pay off.
30 years ago Poles were emigrating due to economic reasons. Today many Poles buy real estate in places like Marbella. Source: Michel A.Arouet
