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U.S. launches sanctions on Russian oil giants amid stalled peace efforts

The U.S. has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies after the failure to arrange a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin to discuss a peace deal for Ukraine.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Putin “has not come to the table in an honest and forthright manner, as we’d hoped.” He said that during recent talks in Alaska, Trump walked away after realizing that negotiations were not progressing toward peace. “We are going to either announce after the close this afternoon or first thing tomorrow morning, a substantial pickup in Russia sanctions,” Bessent said, adding that Washington is pressing Europe, the G7, Canada, and Australia to coordinate on a new round of sanctions against Moscow.

Following these remarks, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil), calling on Moscow to immediately agree to a ceasefire.

The sanctions target Rosneft, a vertically integrated energy firm specializing in the exploration, extraction, production, refining, transport, and sale of petroleum, natural gas, and petroleum products, and Lukoil, which operates across the exploration, production, refining, marketing, and distribution of oil and gas both in Russia and internationally.

Both companies are being designated under Executive Order 14024 for operating or having operated in the energy sector of the Russian Federation’s economy.

In addition, OFAC is designating a number of Russia-based Rosneft and Lukoil subsidiaries, all of which are directly or indirectly owned 50 percent or more by the parent firms, making them subject to blocking under E.O. 14024 even if not individually named by OFAC.

It’s now the U.S. vs China, everyone else needs to choose a side

Putin oversees full-scale nuclear exercises

President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday supervised large-scale strategic nuclear exercises involving all three branches of Russia’s nuclear triad (land-based, sea-based, and air-based forces) in what officials described as a test of command readiness.

The drills included the launch of a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, a weapon capable of carrying nuclear warheads over a range of up to 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles).

In the Barents Sea, the nuclear-powered submarine Bryansk fired a Sineva submarine-launched ballistic missile, while strategic bombers released long-range cruise missiles as part of the air component.

According to the Kremlin, the exercise was intended to verify the reliability of Russia’s nuclear command-and-control systems and to rehearse a retaliatory strike scenario.

The event, one of the country’s most extensive nuclear drills in recent years, seemed aimed at demonstrating to both domestic and foreign audiences that Russia’s strategic deterrent remains intact amid rising tensions with the West.

Although Moscow maintained that the exercise was routine, the synchronized coordination of land, sea, and air assets conveyed a calculated display of strength, reaffirming that Russia’s nuclear forces remain central to its security doctrine and global strategy.

Trump denies report of new U.S. policy on Ukraine missile strikes

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration has lifted a key restriction on Ukraine’s use of long-range, Western-supplied missiles, allowing Kyiv to strike targets inside Russia. 

The report states that authority over such operations was transferred from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to General Alexus Grynkewich, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe. 

The change effectively removes the Pentagon from the approval process for cross-border strikes using Western systems such as the British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, which rely on U.S. targeting data.

President Donald Trump, however, publicly dismissed the Wall Street Journal report as “fake news,” writing on Truth Social that the U.S. “has nothing to do with those missiles or what Ukraine does with them.” 

His denial, contrasted with credible claims of a command transfer, raises questions about whether the White House sought to preserve plausible deniability or whether the move was made at a lower administrative level. 

The timing and structure of the shift, which placed operational discretion in the hands of a regional commander rather than the Pentagon, indicate a push for faster, more flexible targeting approvals while shielding Washington from political fallout should the conflict escalate.

Move fast and break things

Judge extends order blocking National Guard deployment to Chicago

A federal judge has extended an order blocking President Donald Trump’s administration from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago, intensifying a legal confrontation between Washington and Illinois.

The original restraining order, issued by U.S. District Judge April Perry in early October, halted the planned deployment after Illinois officials argued that it infringed on the state’s sovereignty and risked heightening tensions instead of restoring order.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld the order, and with the Supreme Court still to decide, the district court has now extended the injunction indefinitely.

The decision prevents any troop deployment until the case is resolved or the Supreme Court intervenes.

The administration contends that federal troops are necessary to support law enforcement amid rising unrest, while state and city officials argue that the move constitutes an unconstitutional intrusion.

The ruling highlights broader friction between federal authority and state autonomy, representing one of the most consequential judicial challenges to presidential power in decades.

Arizona sues House speaker over blocked swearing-in

The State of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Mike Johnson for refusing to swear in Adelita Grijalva, who was duly elected to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District more than three weeks ago.

The state’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, argues that Johnson’s refusal violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of representation, leaving around 800,000 Arizonans without a voice in Congress.

Grijalva’s election was certified on 14 October, and there has been no dispute over her eligibility or credentials. Nonetheless, Johnson has delayed administering the oath of office, claiming that the House has been out of session due to the continuing federal government shutdown.

The complaint maintains that once an election is certified, swearing in the elected representative is a procedural duty, not a matter of political choice.

Until she takes the oath, Grijalva cannot hire staff, open district offices, or access federal systems, effectively leaving her constituents without representation.

The case raises constitutional questions about the limits of a Speaker’s authority and whether procedural discretion can outweigh the fundamental right to representation.

A ruling in Arizona’s favor could restrict the Speaker’s ability to delay swearing-ins, while a decision for the House would entrench broad leadership discretion in the legislative branch.

The birthplace of civilization

Iran paramilitary leader’s visit to Baghdad seeks to preserve Iran’s influence

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, made a brief and unannounced visit to Baghdad, where he met with senior Iraqi political leaders and heads of pro-Iranian militias.

The trip aimed to prevent the disintegration of Iraq’s Shiite-led ruling coalition and to ease tensions among its members.

Qaani’s visit coincided with a trip to Tehran by Iraq’s National Security Advisor and came amid renewed U.S. pressure on Baghdad to disarm militias loyal to Iran.

U.S. demands were conveyed in a phone call between U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Tehran’s intervention appears aimed at maintaining cohesion within Iraq’s pro-Iran blocs ahead of the 11 November election, improving coordination among affiliated militias, and averting any escalation that might weaken its influence in Baghdad.

The timing of the visit also reflects Iran’s unease over increased U.S. involvement in Iraq’s security affairs and the possibility that internal rifts within the Shiite coalition could erode Tehran’s strategic foothold in the country.

The ultimate complex system

Bank of England warns of echoes of 2008 in U.S. private-credit markets

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has cautioned that the recent turmoil in U.S. private-credit markets carries “worrying echoes” of the sub-prime mortgage crisis that triggered the 2008 global financial collapse.

Speaking before the House of Lords Financial Services Regulation Committee, Bailey cited the failures of several high-profile American firms, including Tricolor and First Brands, as possible early signs of deeper fragilities within the rapidly expanding private-finance sector.

Bailey warned of the renewed use of risky financial engineering, such as the “slicing and dicing” of loans into tranches, a practice that contributed to the last financial crisis. His deputy for financial stability, Sarah Breeden, voiced similar concerns, citing high leverage, weak underwriting, and poor transparency in private-credit markets.

The Bank of England intends to conduct a series of stress-testing “war games” to evaluate how shocks within this opaque sector could spill over into banks, insurers, and pension funds.

Private credit, now estimated to exceed $1.7 trillion globally, has grown quickly outside the reach of traditional banking oversight, prompting fears that its mix of leverage, opacity, and interconnection could act as a conduit for wider financial instability.

Bailey’s remarks, though cautious, reveal mounting unease among policymakers that the global financial system may once again be replicating the same structural weaknesses that pushed it to the brink less than two decades ago.

U.S. Treasury repurchases $1.9 billion of its own debt

The U.S. Treasury has repurchased about $1.9 billion of its own debt, as part of a broader effort to improve liquidity in the government bond market and refine the management of the nation’s debt portfolio.

The buyback targeted older, less-traded securities, known as “off-the-run” Treasuries, that are typically harder to sell and have wider bid-ask spreads. Acting as a regular buyer allows the Treasury to foster smoother market functioning and reduce liquidity gaps that have occasionally unsettled investors.

Officials also employ these buybacks as a tool for managing cash flow and adjusting the maturity structure of federal obligations, at times replacing long-dated, high-coupon debt with newer issues on more favorable terms.

Although the $1.9 billion amount appears substantial, it is negligible compared with the roughly $38 trillion in total U.S. public debt, and therefore has little influence on aggregate borrowing costs.

Even so, the move reflects a cautious approach aimed at stabilizing the bond market after months of turbulence and sustaining confidence among primary dealers and institutional investors.

This is not a form of monetary stimulus akin to the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing; rather, the Treasury is managing its existing liabilities with greater precision.

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