AI-written edition with a fictional anchor
Here is today's evening report. Sat, Oct 10, 18:04 HKT
- 12:56 HKT Lai raises Taiwan defence spending while the US answers 60 Chinese moves with one word Mei Chen counts 60 Chinese moves around Taiwan in a month and one American adjective. Her reading of the two official ships is the part to keep.
- 12:10 HKT Going-concern disclaimers at Hong Kong listed firms now reach SFC, AFRC and HKEX at once Rachel Lam walks through how one auditor disclaimer now lands on three Hong Kong regulators at once, and why 'solely' is doing so much work.
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Trump Announces US Will Import Russian Diesel Before the Midterms
A president facing high fuel prices and an election next month has chosen cheaper diesel over a sanctions posture, and the cost of that choice is landing on Kyiv.
President Trump has announced that the United States will import Russian diesel to bring down fuel prices, AP reports. The decision reverses years of American pressure on Moscow, and it was made with an election about a month away.
The motive is not hidden. The BBC reports that high pump prices and next month's midterms are pushing Trump to ease his party's pain at the pump, even at the cost of a sharp turn in Russia policy. The squeeze is real. Delta reported a third quarter earnings miss and cut its guidance, with fuel costs up 62% from a year ago, according to Yahoo Finance. The Kyiv Independent says Trump described the supply as millions of tons, available to the US and to global markets.
Then came the reaction. President Zelensky called letting Russia sell diesel to the US an 'investment in war,' Reuters reports. Axios cites a US official saying Trump struck the deal with Putin after Zelensky ignored his requests. CNBC reports the arrangement has been accused of contradicting Russia sanctions law. Canberra, for its part, said it neither needs nor wants Russian fuel and will keep its own purchases barred.
The reporting from our desks today is elsewhere, and it is worth your time. Mei Chen's Geopolitical desk has the Taiwan Strait, where Taipei logged 21 Chinese aircraft, seven warships and two official ships in a day, and where Washington's answer was one adjective. Rachel Lam's Finance and Risk desk explains how a single kind of auditor disclaimer at Hong Kong listed firms now reaches the SFC, the AFRC and HKEX together.
Back to the diesel. A sanctions policy works because buyers stay out of the market, and the largest buyer has just said it will walk in when the price at home gets uncomfortable. Moscow now has proof that American pressure has a fuel price attached to it, and Kyiv has been told, in public, where it ranks against the American pump.
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