Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Ukraine advances

Vladimir Putin may not have long to wait for the first major test of his attempt to claim a large section of eastern Ukraine as his own. While the Kremlin plans a ceremony marking the results of sham votes held by Moscow-aligned rebels, Kyiv’s forces are threatening to encircle a pocket of the region Russia set out to occupy, including a key transport hub that could further facilitate the repulsion of Russian soldiers. It would also force Putin to decide whether to follow through on his Sept. 21 threat to use all means to protect Russian territory, and whether that threat includes newly claimed Ukrainian territory. —David E. Rovella

The US dollar is steamrolling everything right now, causing issues for economies almost everywhere but America. That means that, for now at least, it’s not a US problem and the historic central-bank-fueled surge in the greenback is unlikely to abate anytime soon. By some measures, the US currency is already stronger than ever, eclipsing the highs of the early pandemic. The pain it’s inflicting has echoes of the mid-1980s, when foreign exchange chaos forced the world’s most important finance officials to impose a solution on markets. But right now, as far as America is concerned, it’s every country for itself.

The big reason the dollar will continue to pummel the rest of the world is that Fed Chair Jerome Powell is singularly focused on tackling inflation. The Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate from near zero to above 3% in record time. And at its most recent meeting, on Sept. 21, the central bank projected it would add an additional one and a half percentage points in the coming months.

Having left 2.6 million Florida homes and businesses without power, rivers overflowing and a causeway and bridge down, Ian regained hurricane strength over the Atlantic and may soon hit South Carolina with a life-threatening storm surge. President Joe Biden reported that there are already many fatalities being reported from Florida.

Aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. Photographer: Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo

Republicans are trying to block Biden from forgiving student loans for millions of Americans. In a lawsuit filed by six GOP-controlled states, they accuse the Democratic president of overstepping his authority. On Thursday, the administration reversed course on part of its plan, excluding privately held federal student loans. 

Another leak on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea has been disclosed, bringing the total number of ruptures to four, according to the Swedish Coast Guard’s Command Center. Gas has been bubbling up from the pipelines since earlier this week, with Denmark estimating the links would empty by Sunday. Several governments have called the actions “deliberate” and “sabotage.” The 700-meter wide pool of bubbling water in the Baltic Sea caused by the rupture of the Nord Stream gas pipelines also points to a climate disaster.

Facebook-parent Meta, via Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, outlined sweeping plans to reorganize teams and reduce headcount for the first time ever, which may include firings. Zuckerberg’s move marks an end to an era of rapid growth at the embattled social media giant, the subject of a barrage of criticism in recent years over privacy, hate speech and its central role in what intelligence agencies have said were Russian attempts to manipulate US elections.

Aileen Cannon, a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump, has extended the timeline for a controversial review she ordered of highly classified documents and other files seized from the former president’s Florida home, further delaying the fight over whether any materials are privileged. Trump has sought a longer review from the start. Cannon has repeatedly sided with Trump in the case, including against the special master she appointed to review the files.  

Aileen Cannon Source: Bloomberg

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