RT News - January 7th 2023 Merry Christmas Russia and Orthodox faithful around the world!

Merry Christmas Russia and Orthodox faithful around the world!

Funding Ukraine: The U.S. Pentagon has announced a new multi-billion dollar military aid package for Kiev claiming it's the largest military delivery since the Ukrainian conflict began, "$3.75 billion to show enduring commitment to Ukraine" (QS in one chunk, that is. Will these arms, weapons, vehicles etc have a proper inventory attached to them this time? Previous shipments or arms, including helicopters etc, have had around 2/3rds "go missing")

Kevin Owen McCarthy is now the 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives and has proposed cuts in funding to Ukraine. Will he follow through?

Even as Christmas celebrations began, Ukraine shelled a number of Western Russian cities on Orthodox Christmas Eve, injuring multiple civilians. That's despite Moscow calling for a truce on the Christian festival. Ukraine raided many Orthodox churches across the country.

Feature: RT reports on Christmas 2023 in Russia. Merry Christmas, Russia !

The Egyptian pound has continued to fall against the U.S. dollar.

Ukraine grain exports, brokered deal. Despite 70 million tons having been exported via the "grain corridor" which were broked to help the world's poorest and neediest countries, most of those deliveries have ended up in Europe (QS of all the lies and hypocrisy coming from this conflict, this has to be the worst perpetuated by the NATO countries leaders, deliberately, in full knowledge that deliveries of grain from Ukraine to Europe and Britain could have gone overland, as they have done traditionally for decades) 193 million citizens in the world's poorest countries face acute food shortages/starvation.

Zimbabwe is to stop processing applications for mining licences until further notice.

The green agenda: Eco activists report. (QS - consider these activists in the same way as terrorists employed by many countries in the collective west. They are being paid - and paid well by those pressing the green agenda. Please bookmark this video report as things are likely to get far worse for citizens before they get better, using any excuse)

Afshin Rattansi's "Going Underground" talks to Dr. Vandana Shiva: Totalitarian Control Over Life- How The ‘Poison Cartel’ is Killing Life on Earth
https://rumble.com/v245qb6-dr.-vandana-shiva-totalitarian-control-over-life-how-the-poison-cartel-cont.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=2
Are we convinced?

Ukraine has exported almost 17 million tons of grain intended for those most-affected by food insecurity in Africa but reports shows that Europe has received the majority of those deliveries

(Not on this report: Yesterday, Ukrainian government took the main cathedral of the revered historic monastery, Dormition Cathedral and the Refectory Church of the nearly 1,000-year-old Pechersk Lavra, also known as Monastery of the Caves from the Orthodox church, citing the end of a lease)

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Below : 1) --- Ukrainian drone destroyed in Crimea – Sevastopol governor
2) --- More UK retailers risk going bust in 2023 – study
3) --- One-in-four Europeans have trouble heating their home – survey
4) --- Brits rush to buy energy-saving appliances – FT
4a) --- More Brits not paying their bills – research
The upcoming recession is expected to trigger a wave of payment defaults
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7 Jan, 2023 08:01

1) --- Ukrainian drone destroyed in Crimea – Sevastopol governor

The reported incident happened after Kiev rejected a Christmas truce offer

A Ukrainian drone was destroyed near Sevastopol in Crimea, Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Saturday morning. His statement comes after reports of the continued shelling of cities in Donbass by Ukrainian troops. Earlier, Kiev rejected Moscow’s proposal for a temporary truce during Orthodox Christmas.

On his Telegram channel, Razvozhayev accused Kiev of trying to attack the city. The port of Sevastopol houses Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

Several areas of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) were hit by Ukrainian rocket and artillery fire on Friday, according to the local authorities. They added that more than 100 projectiles were fired throughout the day.

Officials said the shelling continued on Saturday morning. In Gorlovka, a city to the northeast of Donetsk, a woman was wounded and two apartment blocks were damaged, they reported. Three houses were damaged in the village of Golmovsky, as well as a power line and gas pipeline.

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the troops to observe a ceasefire from noon Friday to Saturday at midnight in order to allow Orthodox Christians, who make up the majority in Ukraine and Russia, to go to church and celebrate Christmas safety. Moscow urged Kiev to do the same, but the proposal was rejected.

On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that despite the compliance by Moscow’s forces with the truce, “the Kiev regime continued artillery strikes on settlements and positions of Russian troops.” It added that Russian forces suppressed several Ukrainian artillery positions that had been involved in shelling along the entire frontline.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky accused Moscow of planning to use the ceasefire to halt the offensive in Donbass and pull up additional soldiers and equipment to the frontline.
https://www.rt.com/russia/569511-ukrainian-drone-attacks-sevastopol/
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7 Jan, 2023 05:53

2) --- More UK retailers risk going bust in 2023 – study

Business insolvencies are forecast to increase as the cost-of-living crisis weighs on shoppers’ budgets

The deepening cost-of-living crisis in the United Kingdom is likely to result in further retail failures over the year, Bloomberg reported, citing experts at credit insurance firm Atradius.

Britain has seen an increase in retail collapses in 2022, including high profile insolvencies such as Joules and Made.com.

Debt collection specialists at Atradius were cited as saying a jump in claims across retailer and consumer firms in 2022 might be a signal of growing uncertainty which has resulted in other businesses launching re-financings or broad restructurings.

Deals by Next to buy the Joules and Made.com brands could point towards further consolidation as smaller firms come under pressure from rising costs, said Erin Brookes, managing director and head of retail for Europe at Alvarez & Marsal.

“There are retailers and brands which came out of the pandemic with much weaker balance sheets and have now been hit by lower consumer sentiment, alongside any supply disruption and cost inflation,” she told the PA news agency.

According to Brookes, “These still have something to offer, so some of the larger, more robust groups will definitely see opportunities around.”

“That is likely to involve picking up businesses in rescue deals or even just opportunities, from other retailers or investment firms, to buy firms at what they feel is a low price given how much shares have dropped,” she suggested.

The report also indicates that over the past year, online retail giants Boohoo and Asos have both seen their shares plummet over 70% amid a slowdown in demand following the reopening of stores and pressure on budgets.

Christmas could be invaluable to many retailers as they head into a potential challenging start to 2023, when there is expected to be confirmation of a recession, Brookes explained.

“This Christmas is super critical as a lot of retail businesses have been suppressed throughout the year. If you have a good Christmas, then it gives them a solid footing, but if some under pressure retailers report weaker-than-expected trade, then they might be considering their next options,” she said.

Pressure on the retail sector has resulted in a 71% jump in payment claims compared with 2021, which was only worse in the construction sector, according to Atradius. A number of retailers, including THG, AO World and Asos, have reportedly seen cover for their credit insurance cut throughout the year amid investor concerns, particularly in the online retail sector.

“We'll continue to monitor post-Christmas results but having already seen a couple of large failures in Q4, 2022, we expect the negative trend to continue into 2023,” warned the head of commercial at Atradius UK, James Burgess.
https://www.rt.com/business/568988-uk-retailers-bankruptcy-risk/
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7 Jan, 2023 09:05

3) --- One-in-four Europeans have trouble heating their home – survey

The situation is most dire in Greece, where more than half of respondents are struggling to pay heating bills, a think tank has found

More than a quarter of Europeans are experiencing problems heating their homes and paying debts for housing and utilities, the Hungarian media reported on Friday citing a survey by the Szazadveg think tank.

According to the survey, dubbed Europe Project, 26% of EU residents, or roughly 100 million people, are unable to properly heat their homes. Greeks appeared to be the worst affected, with 56% of the population facing difficulties with heating. In Portugal and France, 34% of residents described the same problems. Finland, Hungary, Austria and Denmark were the least affected, with less than 15% of residents admitting to difficulties.

Every fourth respondent in the survey said they were unable to pay their heating bill at least once during the past year. That figure was also the highest in Greece, with 51% of the population affected, followed by Cyprus with 37%, Ireland and Bulgaria, with 35% each.

The respondents blamed inflation for their problems, as rising prices on everything from energy to food impact their ability to pay bills.

According to the survey, heating bills have become far less affordable than in 2021. The authors noted that in 2021, based on data from Europe’s official statistics agency Eurostat, only 6.9% of European households (some 29.9 million people) were unable to adequately heat their homes, and 6.4% struggled with paying bills.

The survey was conducted among 38,000 randomly selected European adults between October 13 and December 7, 2022. The research covered the EU, UK, Norway, Switzerland, Moldova, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
https://www.rt.com/business/569510-every-fourth-european-trouble-heating/
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1 Jan, 2023 05:54

4) --- Brits rush to buy energy-saving appliances – FT

The switch to air fryers and heat pump tumble dryers is reportedly aimed at lowering energy bills

UK shoppers have been snapping up energy-efficient appliances in an effort to lower energy bills amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis in the country, the Financial Times has reported, citing retailers.

Consumers have been increasingly opting for devices such as air fryers and heat pump tumble dryers, as well as loft insulation for their homes, the report said. Sales of air fryers at Argos are up 420% so far year-on-year, while Currys is selling 18,000 to 20,000 air fryers a week, versus just 1,000 to 2,000 around the same period of 2021. Sales of microwaves, a cheaper alternative to ovens, are up 70%.

According to Andrew Gossage, managing director of the online domestic appliance retailer and supplier Ultimate Products, retailers have been “begging” for air fryer stock.

“The general softness of demand is being compensated for by these products with an energy-saving message,” he explained.

The rush comes as British households are paying more for their food and energy bills as a result of skyrocketing inflation, which hit a 41-year high in October. Official statistics show food price inflation in October having soared to 16.5%, the highest level in 45 years.

Consumers across the country have reportedly also been looking to conserve heat, particularly given that the average home in the UK is outside of the top three rating bands for energy efficiency. Sales of loft insulation at the DIY chain Wickes are up 85% on the same period last year, statistics showed.

According to Naeem Adam, AO World’s expert on large appliances, customers of the online domestic appliance retailer have been “opting up” to purchase items with a high energy rating, including heat pump tumble dryers, over lower-priced, entry-level appliances.

“The nation is becoming more mindful of their energy consumption and so whilst they realize that these models may cost more to purchase, the running costs over time will, in fact, save them money,” Adam told F.T.
https://www.rt.com/business/569102-brits-buy-energy-saving-appliances/

RELATED: 4a) --- More Brits not paying their bills – research
The upcoming recession is expected to trigger a wave of payment defaults

As the cost-of-living crisis squeezes British households, many have fallen behind on their bills, according to the Which? Consumer Insight Tracker.

Data released on Wednesday shows that an estimated 1.9 million households have failed to make at least one mortgage, rent, loan, credit card, or other bill payment over the last month. The figure is up from 1.7 million households this time last year.

The report indicated that missed payment rates generally tend to be lower in the lead-up to the holiday period and peak in January, when many households have to pay back their Christmas expenses.

The data suggests that there could be a significant wave of payment defaults in the coming months as the UK heads into recession, and consumers will only face further financial pressures in 2023.

Which? data shows that energy bills have been missed the most (2.3% of households), followed by council tax (1.9%).

Overall, renters were more likely to have missed a housing payment. Of those surveyed, 3.1% reported having missed a loan or credit card payment.

We’re worried that many more people could be facing financial crisis in January – as the credit repayments pile up and the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite,” Rocio Concha, director of policy at Which? said.

“As so many people face financial hardship, Which? is calling on businesses in essential sectors like food, energy and broadband providers to do more to help customers get a good deal and avoid unnecessary or unfair costs and charges during this crisis.”

According to the latest report by research group GfK, consumer confidence in the UK has remained at its lowest level in almost 50 years for eight months now, as households across the country grapple with the deepening cost-of-living crisis.

Inflation in the UK reached 10.7% in November, according to the Office for National Statistics, which is more than five times the 2% target.
https://www.rt.com/business/568677-brits-not-paying-their-bills/
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