The 940-mile Caspian Pipeline Consortium which has transported oil from Kazakhstan to a Russian port on the Black Sea since 2016, carried hopes for international cooperation as well as future profits for both state and corporate investors. The pipeline, one of the world’s largest, was also conceived as a means to reduce Western dependence on Middle East oil. Chevron and Exxon Mobil are among the pipeline’s largest investors, making billions in profits annually.
(“Putin’s Pipeline: How the Kremlin Outmaneuvered Western Oil Companies to Wrest Control of the Vast Flows of Kazakhstan Crude,” International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Nov. 22, 2024)
The growing frequency of climate change-fueled storms are putting flood-prone, low-lying areas and drought-stricken mountainous regions at risk of storm and wildfire damage. But growing climate risks are being largely ignored by the nation’s two largest mortgage underwriters: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who back up half of all U.S. mortgages and keep real estate markets liquid.
(“Mortgage Regulators are Shrugging Off Climate Risk. It Could Cost Taxpayers Billions,” New York Times, Dec. 9, 2024)
During the pre-Holiday Congressional budget crisis, President-elect Donald Trump called on the Republican-controlled House to abolish the federal debt limit or at least delay it for four years. But House GOP budget hawks, joined by Democrats, defeated a move to waive the debt limit before backing a bi-partisan a bill that averted a government shutdown and extended funding for federal programs until mid-March next year.
(“How to Beat the King of Debt At His Own Game,” In These Times, Nov. 27, 2024)
