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Tag: russia

  • Novak Djokovic is welcome at Australian Open, says tournament director; Russian and Belarusian players can compete | CNN

    Novak Djokovic is welcome at Australian Open, says tournament director; Russian and Belarusian players can compete | CNN




    CNN
     — 

    Novak Djokovic would be welcomed to play at the Australian Open if he can obtain a visa, according to tournament director Craig Tiley.

    The former world No. 1 was deported from Australia in January following a prolonged saga, including time in detention, preventing his participation in this year’s Australian Open due to his refusal to get vaccinated for Covid-19.

    Under Australian law, Djokovic could be banned from the country for three years due to the circumstances surrounding his deportation, though Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews didn’t rule out an exemption at the time.

    Tiley said on Wednesday that the Australian Open were not able to lobby on Djokovic’s behalf on this matter, whilst explaining he has not been in contact with the Australian government about the 21-grand slam winner’s visa.

    If Djokovic is able to obtain a visa, Tiley said the nine-time winner of the Australian Open would be permitted to play in the first grand slam of 2023.

    “At this point, Novak and the federal government need to work out the situation and then we’ll follow any instruction after that,” Tiley told reporters.

    “It’s not a matter we can lobby on. It’s a matter that definitely stays between the two of them and then depending on the outcome of that we would welcome him to the Australian Open.”

    Tiley added: “(Djokovic) said that he’d obviously love to come back to Australia, but he knows it’s going to be an ultimate decision for the federal government.

    “He’s accepted that position. It’s a private matter between them but we’d like to welcome Novak back – he’s a nine-time champion – provided he gets the right entry requirements into Australia.”

    The Serbian also didn’t play at this year’s US Open as he remains unvaccinated against Covid-19 and US rules at the time stipulated that any non-US citizen must be fully vaccinated against the virus in order to receive a visa and enter the country.

    Tiley also said that Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to participate under a neutral flag in the upcoming Australian Open.

    Tennis authorities had prohibited athletes from both countries from competition at international team competitions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year – they were allowed to player at regular tour events.

    While the French Open and the US Open allowed them to compete as neutrals, Wimbledon imposed an outright ban – then world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev was barred from competing as a result.

    “At this point, Russian and Belarusian players will be eligible to play in the Australian Open,” Tiley said. “The only difference will be that they cannot represent Russia – cannot represent the flag of Russia.

    “They cannot participate in any activity such as the anthem of Russia and they have to play as independent players under a neutral name. But they will be welcome to the Australian Open in January.”

    The 2023 Australian Open begins on Monday, January 16 in Melbourne.



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  • Putin says Russia expects China’s Xi to make state visit in spring

    Putin says Russia expects China’s Xi to make state visit in spring


    In opening remarks before a video conference between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin said he was expecting Xi to make a state visit to Russia in the spring.

    Photo by MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he was expecting Chinese President Xi Jinping to make a state visit to Russia in spring 2023, in what would be a public show of solidarity from Beijing amid Russia’s flailing military campaign in Ukraine.

    In introductory remarks from a video conference between the two leaders broadcast on state television, Putin said: “We are expecting you, dear Mr Chairman, dear friend, we are expecting you next spring on a state visit to Moscow.”

    He said the visit would “demonstrate to the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations”.

    Speaking for around eight minutes, Putin said Russia-China relations were growing in importance as a stabilising factor, and that he aimed to deepen military cooperation between the two countries.

    In a response that lasted around a quarter as long, Xi said China was ready to increase strategic cooperation with Russia against the backdrop of what he called a “difficult” situation in the world at large.

    The relationship between Russia and China, which the two sides have hailed as a “no limits” partnership, has taken on great significance since Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

    Though Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, China has refrained from condemning Moscow’s military campaign, instead stressing the need for peace.

    Russian energy exports to China have risen significantly since the outbreak of the conflict, with Russia now China’s single largest oil supplier.

    However, Beijing has so far been careful not to provide the sort of direct material support that could provoke Western sanctions against China.

    At a September summit in Uzbekistan, Putin acknowledged his Chinese counterpart’s “concerns” about the situation in Ukraine.



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  • Oil and Turkish stocks were 2022 market winners. Russia funds and crypto tanked | CNN Business

    Oil and Turkish stocks were 2022 market winners. Russia funds and crypto tanked | CNN Business



    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Oil stocks skyrocketed in 2022, so it’s no surprise funds that track the energy sector were Wall Street winners this year. But the top fund of the year is a surprising one: It invests in a variety of companies based in Turkey.

    The iShares MSCI Turkey exchange-traded fund had more than doubled as of December 19, according to data from Morningstar Direct. The fund has big stakes in Turkish financial giant Akbank, Istanbul-based retailer Bim and the parent company of Turkish Airlines.

    Turkey has been hit hard by inflation, like the rest of the world, and its currency, the lira, has plummeted against the US dollar and other leading global currencies.

    So why the big gains?

    Turkey’s stock market thrived because the country is doing something most others aren’t: Its central bank has been slashing interest rates to prop up consumer spending. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to keep rates super low. He has even fired several central bankers in the past few years who refused to lower rates.

    The Turkish economy has slowed recently as unemployment has risen, but the instability has not hurt Turkish stocks. The iShares Turkey ETF has also had a lift from higher energy prices, as refinery Tüpraş is a top holding.

    Other US and international oil funds and ETFs were also at the top of Morningstar Direct’s list. (Morningstar Direct provided CNN Business with a ranking of the best and worst mutual funds and ETFs for 2022, excluding so-called leveraged funds that make outsized bets on stock market indexes.)

    The United States 12 Month Natural Gas

    (UNL)    , Energy Select Sector SPDR

    (XLE)     and several oil/energy funds run by top investing firms like Fidelity, Vanguard and BlackRock’s

    (BLK)     iShares are all up between 50% and 80% for the year.

    In this rocky year for stocks, there were significantly more losers than winners in the mutual fund and ETF world in 2022. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF

    (SPY)     and Invesco QQQ

    (QQQ)    , which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, were down 19% and 31% respectively.

    But no funds were hit harder than ETFs with exposure to Russia.

    Most funds with investments in top Russian companies either liquidated or halted trading following Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine in late February, an act that essentially forced the United States, Europe and rest of the Western world to cut ties with Moscow and Russian businesses.

    Investments in Russia ETFs from iShares, VanEck and Voya were pretty much wiped out.

    The carnage in cryptocurrencies also hit several funds hard. Bitcoin prices were plunging even before the collapse of former crypto unicorn FTX. But the stunning demise of Sam Bankman-Fried’s company sent further shock waves throughout the industry.

    Funds from Osprey, Grayscale, VanEck (again), Global X, Bitwise, First Trust, Invesco and many other institutional investment firms all tumbled more than 70% in 2022.

    Other once-trendy funds were also hit hard this year.

    Several of the Ark ETFs run by Cathie Wood, which had significant exposure to Tesla

    (TSLA)    , Coinbase, Zoom

    (ZM)    , Roku

    (ROKU)     and other momentum tech stocks that have dropped precipitously in 2022, were among the biggest fund losers.

    Numerous funds focusing on cannabis stocks also, ahem, went to pot this year. Cannabis ETFs from AdvisorShares, Global X and Amplify all plunged more than 60%. Even though more states are legalizing recreational and medicinal weed, intense competition in the business is making it difficult for cannabis companies to generate profits.



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