Wow, what a news day! Ukraine's president addresses Congress, asking for aide; the Fed is about to raise interest rates for the first time in four years; Pfizer seeks authorization for a 4th booster shot; and Herschel Walker fumbles again, this time on evolution.
Oh, and Russia “sanctions” Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Hillary Clinton! LOL
By the way, Russia is about to default on its debt and Saudi Arabia is considering taking yuan for oil, possibly abandoning the US dollar and sending it to the scrap heap of history.
Boy oh boy! I can't cover it all in just six stories…be prepared for another sixpack later today BUT ONLY if I get some love. So hit up the “buy me a beer” button and Sixpack Monkey will be put to work!
Possible stories dropping later today in the, uh, Afternoon Sixpack?
- Ukraine-Russia, another Russian general is killed
- COVID-19
- The economy & the Fed: Inflation or stagflation or just a really big recession?
- Oil & Gas
Ukraine's President Zelenskyy Addresses Congress, Pleads for Help
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.S. Congress, the actor-turned-wartime leader’s latest video speech as he uses the West’s great legislative bodies as a global stage to orchestrate support against Russia’s crushing invasion.
Zelenskyy’s livestreamed address Wednesday into the U.S. Capitol will be among the most important in a unique and very public strategy in which he has invoked Winston Churchill, Hamlet and the power of world opinion in his fight to stop Russia.
Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used his campaign to implore allied leaders to “close the sky” to prevent the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country. It’s a singular request and now a rallying cry in popular culture. It has also put Zelenskyy at odds with President Joe Biden, whose administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the U.S. seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.
Instead, Biden will deliver his own address following Zelenskyy’s speech, in which he is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official familiar with the matter. That would bring the total announced in the last week alone to $1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air-defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Appearing in his now trademark army green T-shirt as he appeals to world leaders, the boyish but unshaven Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.
Invoking Shakespeare’s hero last week, he asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is “to be or not to be.” On Tuesday, he appealed to “Dear Justin” as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine’s membership — and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.
”I know he will ask for more help,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyy’s relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.
“Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III,” Biden has said.
AP
And on that somber last note (nuclear annihilation), let's move onto COVID, shall we?
Pfizer & BioNTech Submit for U.S. Emergency Use Authorization of an Additional Booster Dose of their COVID-19 Vaccine for Older Adults
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced the companies have submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of an additional booster dose adults 65 years of age and older who have received an initial booster of any of the authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines. The submission is based on two real-world data sets from Israel analyzed at a time when the Omicron variant was widely circulating. Both data sets showed evidence that an additional mRNA booster increases immunogenicity and lowers rates of confirmed infections and severe illness.
An analysis of Israeli Ministry of Health records was conducted for over 1.1 million adults 60 years of age and older who had no known history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and were eligible for an additional (fourth dose) booster. These data showed rates of confirmed infections were 2 times lower and rates of severe illness were 4 times lower among individuals who received an additional booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine administered at least four months after an initial booster (third) dose compared to those who received only one booster dose.
Also included in the submission are results from an ongoing, open-label, non-randomized clinical trial in healthcare workers 18 years of age and older at a single study center in Israel who had been vaccinated with three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. Among the 154 (out of 700) participants who received an additional booster (fourth) dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at least four months following the initial booster, neutralizing antibody titers increased approximately 7-fold to 8-fold at two and three weeks after the additional booster (fourth) dose compared to five months after the initial booster (third) dose. Additionally, there was an 8-fold and 10-fold increase in neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) at one and two weeks after the additional booster dose, respectively, compared to five months after the initial booster. The study also revealed no new safety concerns in individuals who received an additional booster dose of the vaccine.
Pfizer
We should all just face the fact: COVID “boosters” are here to stay. Expect an annual “COVID cocktail” from here on out.
The Federal Reserve Is about to Raise Interest Rates as Inflation Continues to Surge
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates Wednesday for the first time since 2018, kickstarting its efforts to tackle the country's highest inflation in four decades.
Additional rate hikes are likely to follow in the months to come, as the Fed gradually reverses the extremely easy money policies it's pursued since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We need to move away from very low interest rates,” Fed chairman Jerome Powell told lawmakers earlier this month. “They're not appropriate for the current situation in the economy.”
Annual inflation reached 7.9% last month, reflecting the steepest rise in prices since 1982. Price increases have proven larger and more long-lasting than the Fed expected, as businesses struggle to keep pace with surging consumer demand.
“Inflation is all too high,” Powell said. “We're going to use our tools to bring it down.”
NPR
So what they should have done is raise rates BEFORE inflation got out of hand. Now, what they face is a dilemma: Cause a recession or cause a depression. LOL.
Larry Summers gives his opinion here: Opinion: The Fed is charting a course to stagflation and recession
In today's “Afternoon Sixpack” (if it comes), I'll give you another opinion on how this plays out.
Herschel Walker Fumbles Again, This Time On Evolution
Many of the issues plaguing Herschel Walker’s Senate candidacy have nothing to do with his rhetoric. It’s become obvious, for example, that the Georgia Republican knows effectively nothing about public affairs. Voters have also learned about allegations of domestic violence and other dangerous personal behavior. His failures as a businessman have also been well documented.
But Walker’s rhetoric clearly hasn’t helped matters.
Late last year, the first-time candidate tried to argue that the late-Rep. John Lewis was a senator who’d oppose the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We learned soon after that Walker had falsely claimed the FDA had approved an unproven “dry mist” mystery treatment for Covid-19. The Republican then said it was “totally unfair“ to ask for his opinion about the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Now, as HuffPost reported, Walker is rejecting evolution, too, suggesting the existence of apes casts doubt on modern biology.
“At one time, science said man came from apes, did it not? … If that is true, why are there still apes? Think about it,” Herschel said in an appearance at Sugar Hill Church in Georgia on Sunday. “Now you’re getting too smart for us, Herschel,” lead pastor Chuck Allen responded.
MSNBC
This is the BEST the GOP has to offer? It would be laughable, but it ain't funny because the dude will probably win. And then we have yet another competitor for dumbest guy in Congress.
Walker is an uber competitor, so he won't lose that contest.
Saudi Arabia Reportedly Considering Accepting Yuan Instead Of Dollar For Oil Sales
Saudi and Chinese officials are in talks to price some of the Gulf nation’s oil sales in yuan rather than dollars or euros, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The two nations have intermittently discussed the matter for six years, but have reportedly stepped up in 2022, with Riyadh disgruntled over the U.S.’ nuclear negotiations with Iran and its lack of backing for its intervention in Yemen.
Nearly 80 percent of global oil sales are priced in dollars, and since the mid-1970s the Saudis have exclusively used the dollar for oil trading as part of a security agreement with the U.S. government, according to the Journal.ADVERTISEMENT
The talks are the latest in an ongoing effort by Beijing both to make its currency tradeable in international oil markets and strengthen its relationship with the Saudis specifically. China previously aided Riyadh in construction of ballistic missiles and consultation on nuclear power.
Conversely, the Saudi-U.S. relationship has been increasingly frayed in recent years. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman initially put forth a public image as a reformer, liberalizing the country’s policies on women’s rights and criminal justice.
However, the 2018 assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been catastrophic for both the crown prince’s public relations offensive and relations with Washington. The rift intensified after President Biden, who has said the assassination should make the kingdom a “pariah,” took office.
During the same period, China’s economic relationship to Saudi Arabia has grown closer, with the kingdom providing 1.76 million barrels of oil a day to the country in 2021, according to the Journal, citing China’s General Administration of Customs. While the country plans to maintain the dollar for the majority of its oil trading, a shift by the Saudis could create a domino effect for China’s other major oil suppliers, such as Russia, Angola and Iraq.
Saudi Arabia previously threatened to sell in other currencies in 2019 if Congress passed a bill that would allow antitrust liability for OPEC members. The bill, which has been introduced numerous times over the years, failed again that year.
The Hill
Is this the beginning of the end for the US Dollar? Perhaps. Will it usher in even more acceptance of crypto currencies? Probably.
I only put this here because I love Elvis, as many people do. It's not really “news” but it's still awesome and looks very good.
Elvis Will Be in the Building: Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley Film Set for Cannes Premiere
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros has firmed a splashy Cannes premiere for Elvis, the Baz Luhrmann-directed epic story about the relationship between Elvis Presley and his manager Colonel Tom Parker that shook up the world of rock ‘n’ roll forever.
No specific date yet, but the film is locked in for a Palais bow, sources said. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood‘s Austin Butler plays Presley and Tom Hanks plays Parker, the man who discovered the singer and turned him into a world-famous star — taking half of his earnings for his trouble. Watch the Elvis trailer here.
This has been in the air for a while, but Deadline can confirm it is definitely happening.
Deadline Hollywood
TCB, man!
Make it a great day!
Bill
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