(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: 10 things you need to know this Thursday – March 3, 2022

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Oil prices reach highest levels in more than a decade as Russian aggression intensifies – As markets opened Wednesday morning, U.S. oil prices reached highs not seen in more than a decade.

Futures for the international benchmark Brent crude listed prices as more than $113.58 a barrel, CNBC said. – READ MORE

White House Quietly Calls On US Oil Companies To Increase Production – In a move that likely angered his environment-conscious base, the White House has issued a muted request for U.S. oil companies to increase crude oil production in the wake of high crude oil and gasoline prices.

Though words are different than deeds—and President Joe Biden’s deeds have been decisively anti-fossil fuel expansion—a White House official told U.S. oil companies on Tuesday that they could increase production if they want. – READ MORE

Operator Of Nord Stream 2 Fires All Employees After US Sanctions – In a brief statement released this morning, Nord Stream 2 said that “We cannot confirm the media reports that Nord Stream 2 has filed for bankruptcy.”

Switzerland-based Nord Stream 2 AG “only informed the local authorities that the company had to terminate contracts with employees following the recent geopolitical developments leading to the imposition of U.S. sanctions on the company.” – READ MORE

New Yorkers Lash Out At ConEdison Over Soaring Electricity Bills – Sky-high electric bills on the front page. Europe? The U.K? No, just north of New York City, where local politicians criticized Consolidated Edison of NY, the local electric utility. And further, local business people noted that they had warned of this potential problem a decade ago when the last governor decided to close down the nearby nuclear power plant, Indian Point. Some customers complain that their supply bill (for their electricity usage, not the lines or wires) has tripled in past months. For the typical consumer this is a noticeable increase.

Con Edison—which in the past has taken the stand that it just delivers the electricity (they don’t actually produce it) so go complain somewhere else—announced that it “was reviewing our practices…” and will work out programs to help customers who are struggling to pay these rapidly escalating electricity bills. Meanwhile the staffer of a local member of Congress said, “At the end of the day, it is Con Edison that bills New Yorkers, and, therefore Con Ed that bears direct consumer responsibility for this egregious price hike…” Politicians have focused on how to help consumers pay their bills this winter, both here and in Europe. They don’t focus on the possibility that the existing wholesale electricity market, set up three decades ago to make electricity competitive, may bear responsibility for the mess as well. – READ MORE

Official data: Fully vaccinated people account for 9 of 10 COVID deaths – The fully vaccinated account for 9 of every 10 deaths from COVID-19 in England and 4 of 5 deaths among the triple-vaccinated, according to the latest data published by the U.K. Health Security Agency.

The independent British news site The Exposé reported the government report, published Feb. 22, includes a table on page 41 confirming the vast majority of deaths were among the vaccinated. – READ MORE

Bare-Faced Flyers: European Airlines Dropping Mask Mandates on Flights – Jet2 announced on Wednesday the end of mask requirements for English passengers on their flights as Ryanair committed to ending their mask mandate in the near future.

British airline Jet2 has updated its coronavirus guidelines and axed its rules for mandatory mask-wearing on flights that take off from England and Northern Ireland, highlighting it is “no longer a legal requirement” to wear them. – READ MORE

Carjackings in cities like NYC, Philadelphia jump over 200% – often with kids behind the wheel, officials say – Carjackings have skyrocketed 200% — or more — in multiple big cities across the county in past years, as law enforcement officials and crime experts pleaded with lawmakers on Tuesday for help addressing the rampant issue, with one official warning: “Anyone in a car is a potential victim.”  – READ MORE

January 6 Defendant Dies By Suicide – A 37 year old who was charged in the U.S. Capitol breach reportedly died by suicide on Friday, about a month before he was scheduled to be sentenced.

Matthew Perna was charged with trespassing on the Capitol, “obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, disorderly and disruptive conduct on a restricted building or grounds and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building,” ABC27News reported. – READ MORE

Freedom Fries: West Begins Scrubbing Russia from Cultural Sphere – As well as economic sanctions on Russia in the wake of its relaunched invasion of Ukraine, several attempts to isolate the Eurasian state culturally are also underway.

After the country’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia has found itself at the business end of a host of sanctions targeting the regional power’s economy and military sector. – READ MORE

Horowitz: Effort grows to block Chinese ownership of US land, but establishment Republicans oppose it – You control the food and farms, you control the people. This is why it is prudent at this time in history to begin social distancing from China.

According to USDA data, as of 2019, foreign investors owned at least 35.2 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. In other words, 2.7% of privately owned crop, grazing, and forest lands are owned by foreign investors. While the top foreign holders are from Canada and friendly European countries, Chinese owners controlled about 192,000 agricultural acres in the U.S., worth $1.9 billion, an amount that has grown rapidly over the past decade. – READ MORE