My comments at the arms control PIR co-sponsored round table in Geneva: 1. “The risk of nuclear escalation, event of a nuclear war, is today higher than in recent decades. Needless to say, in today’s reality, escalation involving non-nuclear components, including medium range missile systems, is going on, and we all are witnesses to it. We have a war in Europe – a hybrid war between NATO states and Russia, in which interconnection between ‘nuclear’ and ‘non-nuclear’ has become a sensitive factor of growing importance.”
My comments at the arms control PIR co-sponsored round table in Geneva: 1. “The risk of nuclear escalation, event of a nuclear war, is today higher than in recent decades. Needless to say, in today’s reality, escalation involving non-nuclear components, including medium range missile systems, is going on, and we all are witnesses to it. We have a war in Europe – a hybrid war between NATO states and Russia, in which interconnection between ‘nuclear’ and ‘non-nuclear’ has become a sensitive factor of growing importance.”
Overall, extreme levels of fear in the market seems to have morphed into something more resembling concern. For example, the Cboe Volatility Index fell from its 2022 peak of 36, which it hit Monday, to around 30 on Friday, a sign of easing tensions. Meanwhile, while the price of WTI crude oil slipped from Sunday’s multiyear high $130 of barrel to $109 a pop. Markets have been expecting heavy restrictions on Russian oil, some of which the U.S. has already imposed, and that would reduce the global supply and bring about even more burdensome inflation. Under the Sebi Act, the regulator has the power to carry out search and seizure of books, registers, documents including electronics and digital devices from any person associated with the securities market. "The inflation fire was already hot and now with war-driven inflation added to the mix, it will grow even hotter, setting off a scramble by the world’s central banks to pull back their stimulus earlier than expected," Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS, wrote in an email. "A spike in inflation rates has preceded economic recessions historically and this time prices have soared to levels that once again pose a threat to growth." The Security Service of Ukraine said in a tweet that it was able to effectively target Russian convoys near Kyiv because of messages sent to an official Telegram bot account called "STOP Russian War." At its heart, Telegram is little more than a messaging app like WhatsApp or Signal. But it also offers open channels that enable a single user, or a group of users, to communicate with large numbers in a method similar to a Twitter account. This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for Telegram and its users, since these channels can be used for both good and ill. Right now, as Wired reports, the app is a key way for Ukrainians to receive updates from the government during the invasion.
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