Raphael Stevens

The Federal Trade Commission is launching an investigation into whether mergers in the baby formula industry contributed to the current shortage.
The FTC also said it would use the full force of the law against individuals or businesses that are taking advantage of the shortage by price gouging parents.
President Joe Biden asked the FTC earlier this month to investigate the infant formula shortage to find out whether manufacturers contributed to it by keeping formula from smaller retailers.

A woman shops for baby formula at Target in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 16, 2022, as a nationwide shortage of baby formula continues due to supply chain crunches tied to the coronavirus pandemic that have already strained the countrys formula stock, an issue that was further exacerbated by a major product recall in February.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday launched an investigation into infant formula manufacturers to find out whether corporate mergers contributed to a nationwide shortage by concentrating the industry.
FTC Chair Lina Khan said that the commission would also investigate whether formula makers and distributors engaged in illegal economic discrimination that limited availability at some retailers.

“Discriminatory terms and conditions can exacerbate the inability of some grocers, pharmacies, and other stores to source products in short supply, impacting both rural and inner-city communities in particular,” Khan said in a statement Tuesday.
Parents across the country have struggled to find formula for their infants at stores after Abbott Nutrition shut down its plant in Sturgis, Michigan, in February due to bacterial contamination. Four infants who consumed formula made at the plant were hospitalized with bacterial infections, and two of them died. Abbott has said there’s “no conclusive evidence” that its formula led to the hospitalizations and deaths.
Four manufacturers — Abbott, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigo — control 90% of the U.S. market. The domestic supply chain is easily disrupted when one plant goes offline.
The FDA and Abbott reached an agreement to reopen the Michigan plant to help ease the shortage, subject to conditions the company has to fulfill to ensure the plant meets U.S. food safety standards. The agreement, called a consent decree, is enforceable by federal courts. The company faces the threat of $30,000 daily fines if it fails to comply.
President Joe Biden asked the FTC earlier this month to investigate the infant formula shortage to find out whether manufacturers contributed to it by keeping formula from smaller retailers. He also asked the commission to stop any individuals or businesses from taking advantage of the scarcity by price gouging parents.

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Khan said the FTC would use the full force of the law against anyone who is found to be scamming families trying to buy formula, including through online bots that automatically purchase and resell formula at exorbitant prices.
“While reselling these products is not illegal and may serve a useful function, using ‘bots’ or other automated tools to divert large amounts of supply of life-sustaining products from ordinary retailers and then prey on desperate families may constitute an unfair practice under the FTC Act,” Khan said.
The FTC also asked the public to submit comments to a federal website about whether any state or federal agencies may have accidentally taken actions that contributed to the shortage.
Biden has invoked the Defense Production Act, a law passed in response to the Korean War, to help manufacturers boost production by ordering suppliers to prioritize the delivery of baby formula ingredients. The U.S. is also airlifting the equivalent of 1.5 million eight-ounce bottles of formula from abroad, according to the White House.
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations subcommittee will hold a public hearing Wednesday on the baby formula shortage. It will feature testimony from the Food and Drug Administration head Robert Califf and executives from three formula manufacturers: Abbott; Reckitt, which acquired Mead Johnson in 2017; and Nestle-owned Gerber.

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Many of the newest EVs — including models by Ford, GMC, Rivian and Lucid — have backlogs of orders and reservations.
Some models may be easier to find than others, according to industry data compiled by CNBC.
Pent-up demand means people should still expect to pay the manufacturer’s suggested retail price — or more.

Charging port for a Ford Motor Co. Mustang during the Washington Auto Show in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

As gas prices hit record highs, some Americans might be tempted to go electric and ease the pain at the pump. But finding a shiny, new electric vehicle might not be so easy.
National inventory levels of vehicles — including EVs — were depleted during the pandemic by a combination of pent-up demand and supply chain problems. Drivers looking to buy an EV today might have to wait for months, or more, before the cars are delivered.

And yet, rising fuel prices continue to plague both businesses and consumers, with the national average for gas hitting a record $4.59 a gallon, according to AAA. The rise in fuel costs — a 51% spike from a year ago — comes ahead of a summer travel season that’s expected to be bustling, and at a time when decades-high inflation is stoking recessionary fears among investors.
The low availability of vehicles, including EVs, has been driven in part by supply chain problems — most notably a shortage of semiconductor chips since early 2021 — that have led automakers to idle plants, leaving fewer cars and trucks available for consumers.
Cox Automotive reports the supply of all new vehicles at the end of April was down 40% from the same period a year earlier to 1.13 million unsold cars and trucks. That’s about 800,000 vehicles below supply in April 2021 and 2.2 million below 2020.
Legacy automakers and electric-vehicle start-ups alike reported modest production volumes to start the year, though they expect waning supply chain restraints to help boost EV production during the second half. For now, EVs are still in short supply and are expected to be for the foreseeable future.
Many of the newest EVs — including the Ford F-150 Lightning, GMC Hummer EV, Rivian R1T and Lucid Air — have backlogs of orders and reservations. Even Tesla, the industry leader in EV sales, said some new orders won’t be fulfilled until the summer of next year, depending on the vehicle model.

Still, some EV models might be easier to score right now, according to industry data compiled by CNBC from sources including automakers, Cox Automotive and the Automotive News Data Center. They include a handful of models from General Motors, Ford, Hyundai Motor and Kia.
Vehicle availability can change quickly and varies by region — those on the coasts may not struggle as much to find an EV. Some vehicles may also be “in transit,” or on their way to dealers, and available to order, depending on the company or dealer. 
But given the tight supplies and growing demand, analysts say people should expect to pay the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, if not more. Pricing excludes any state or federal tax incentives that might be available for buying an EV.
Here’s where availability stands for some of the highest-inventory vehicles and for some of the major players:

Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV

Source: Chevrolet

The Bolt models are the most widely available EVs on sale right now, according to industry data.
GM is in the midst of refilling its dealership pipeline with the EVs after a recall due to fire risks shut down sales and production for several months of the past year. All available models have been repaired and cleared of the defects, according to GM, which expects record Bolt sales this year.
Chevrolet’s website shows thousands of the vehicles — mainly Bolt EUVs — currently available.
The Bolt EV starts at $31,500, with an electric range of up to 259 miles on a full charge. The larger Bolt EUV, which went on sale last year, starts at $33,500 and has a range of 247 miles on a full charge.

Ford Mustang Mach-E

Visitors check on a Ford Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle displayed at a launch event in Shanghai, China April 13, 2021.
Yilei Sun | Reuters

Ford said there’s currently 1,300 electric Mach-E crossovers on dealer lots, though about 800 of those vehicles have already been earmarked for specific customers.
Ford has been encouraging customers to order their vehicles through the dealers, instead of buying off lots, like a majority of their customers have historically done. The process means customers may have to wait for the vehicle, but it assists the company with managing production and ensures customers are getting the exact vehicle they want instead of choosing one from a dealer’s inventory.
There are several thousand Mach-Es in transit that should be arriving on dealer lots in the coming weeks and months, according to the company.
Depending on the location, hundreds of vehicles might be available, the company’s website indicates. It has closed orders for the vehicle for the 2022 model year. Orders for 2023 models will open in the summer, with production expected to begin in the fall.
The Mustang Mach-E starts at $43,895. Its range on a single charge is up to 314 miles.

Kia EV6 and Niro

The Kia EV6 on display at the New York Auto Show, April 13, 2022.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Kia has been growing its EV sales this year, with nearly 8,000 EV6 vehicles sold through April. For the Kia Niro, which includes an EV model, sales have nearly doubled.
Nationally, the company said it has an inventory, including in transit, of more than 1,000 units each of the EV6 and Niro EV. The EV6 models are more widely available than the Niro EV, which is concentrated in California and other popular EV markets.
Kia outperformed most other automakers in new EV registrations in the U.S. for the first quarter of this year, trailing only Tesla, according to Automotive News, citing Experian data.
Kia’s EV6 starts at $40,900, with a 310-mile electric range on a full charge. The Kia Niro EV, which was redesigned for the 2023 model, starts at $39,990 and has an electric range of 239 miles on a single charge.

Hyundai Ioniq 5

Hyundai Ioniq 5 on display at the New York Auto Show, April 13, 2022.
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Hyundai is in ramp-up mode for its Ioniq 5, the brand’s newest EV, which went on sale late last year.
The company is trying to get as many of the vehicles out to dealers as possible, but industry data indicates that only hundreds of the vehicles are available nationally. That’s still more than some other EVs.
In the New York City area, Hyundai’s website shows nearly 200 vehicles available within 250 miles. In Santa Monica, California, the site shows a couple dozen of the cars available within the same distance.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 starts at $44,000, with an electric range of 303 miles on a single charge.

Lucid Air

People test drive Dream Edition P and Dream Edition R electric vehicles at the Lucid Motors plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, September 28, 2021.
Caitlin O’Hara | Reuters

Those hoping to buy an EV from newer manufacturers may face even longer waits.
Lucid Group began building the company’s first vehicle, the Air luxury sedan, at its Arizona factory late last year. Reviews have been positive and — despite the six-figure price tags on most versions of the sedan — Lucid said earlier this month that it had more than 30,000 reservations for the vehicle.
But many of those buyers may have to wait a year or more to get their cars.
Lucid’s factory can make about 34,000 vehicles a year when it runs at full capacity. But the company has said supply chain issues will curb production to between 12,000 and 14,000 Airs this year.
The Lucid Air starts at $77,400, with 406 miles of range on a full charge. The top-of-the-line Air Grand Touring offers range of up to 516 miles on a full charge, at a starting price of $139,000.
Lucid has announced plans to raise its prices as of June 1.

Rivian R1T and R1S

Rivian electric pickup trucks sit in a parking lot at a Rivian service center on May 09, 2022 in South San Francisco, California. 
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

It’s a similar story at Rivian, which also began production last fall.
The company said this month it had more than 90,000 reservations for its outdoorsy R1T pickup and R1S SUV. Its Illinois factory has capacity to build about 150,000 vehicles a year, including the R1 models and the electric delivery vans that Rivian builds for Amazon.
But the company is also facing supply chain challenges, as well as some early production snags, and expects to build just 25,000 vehicles in 2022. An order placed today might not be filled for a year or more.
Rivian’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV offer about 260 miles of range in their base trims, which start at $67,500 and $72,500, respectively. Larger battery packs that provide more range — up to 320 miles on the R1S and 400 miles on the R1T — are available at extra cost.

Fisker Ocean

Henrik Fisker stands with the Fisker Ocean electric vehicle after it was unveiled at the Manhattan Beach Pier ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show and AutoMobilityLA on November 16, 2021 in Manhattan Beach, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images

Fisker, based in California, had more than 45,000 reservations for its Ocean electric SUV as of its May 4 earnings report but doesn’t expect to start building the vehicles with its manufacturing partner Magna Steyr until mid-November.
CEO Henrik Fisker said he’s working with Magna Steyr and suppliers to increase production capacity from 50,000 vehicles a year to 150,000 vehicles a year by the end of 2024.
Even if the company escapes supply chain challenges, a customer who orders an Ocean today likely wouldn’t see it until the fall of 2023 at the earliest.
Fisker’s Ocean SUV can travel about 250 miles on a full charge in its base trim, which starts at $37,499. Larger battery packs offering up to 350 miles of range are available at extra cost.

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Carlos Tavares expects a shortage of EV batteries by 2024-2025, followed by a lack of raw materials for the vehicles by 2027-2028.
The possibility of shortages has been a focus of Wall Street analysts when rating automakers and predicting their ability to sell EVs.
Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest carmaker, was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA last year.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares holds a news conference after meeting with unions, in Turin, Italy, March 31, 2022.
Massimo Pinca | Reuters

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said he expects shortages of the batteries and raw materials needed to make electric vehicles in the coming years, as the global automotive industry pivots to EVs to meet an expected increase in consumer demand and government regulations.
Tavares said he expects a shortage of EV batteries by 2024-2025, followed by a lack of raw materials for the vehicles that will slow availability and adoption of EVs by 2027-2028.

“The speed at which we are trying to move all together for the right reason, which is fixing the global warming issue, is so high that the supply chain and the production capacities have no time to adjust,” he told media Tuesday after the company announced a new $2.5 billion EV battery plant in Indiana.
Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest carmaker, was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA last year.
Tavares used the prospect of a shortage to urge policymakers globally to stop aggressively moving targets for EVs forward.
European regulators have been among the most aggressive in implementing new EV regulations, with those in the United Kingdom announcing plans to ban the sale of vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines by 2030, sooner than the previous target date of 2040. The Biden administration last year also announced a target for half of all vehicles in the U.S. to be EVs by the end of the decade.  
“All the car companies now, at least the best ones, are now full speed ahead; in full execution mode, going as fast as they can,” Tavares said. “The only thing that really helps to deliver is stability. Stop playing with the rules. Leave the rules as they are and let people work properly.”

Tavares expects a bottleneck in batteries first, as more EV production plants come online. He then expects those facilities to create a shortage of raw materials for the vehicles. Such shortages have been a focus of Wall Street analysts when rating automakers and predicting their ability to sell EVs.
This isn’t the first time Tavares has warned of such a shortage, but it’s the most detailed.
“The point is, when we want to move too fast with a big magnitude and there is not enough feasibility studies, we may be bumping on this kind of stuff,” Tavares said. “You’ll see that the electrification path, which is a very ambitious one, in a time window that has been set by the administrations is going to bump on the supply side.”
Automakers globally have set sales expectations to transition certain brands to exclusively offering EVs by the end of this decade, if not sooner.
Stellantis is investing $35 billion in EVs and expects to achieve annual sales of 5 million electric vehicles globally by 2030. That would include all passenger car sales in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck sales in North America, in line with government targets.

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Monkeypox is spread primarily through close physical contact and people are most infectious when they have rashes on their body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus can also spread through respiratory transmission when a person has lesions in their throat or mouth, but this requires prolonged contract.
“This is not Covid,” Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, a CDC official, said. “Respiratory spread is not the predominant worry. It is contact and intimate contact in the current outbreak setting and population.”

Head of the Institute of Microbiology of the German Armed Forces Roman Woelfel works in his laboratory in Munich, May 20, 2022, after Germany has detected its first case of monkeypox.
Christine Uyanik | Reuters

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to calm public anxiety over how the monkeypox virus is transmitted, emphasizing that it doesn’t spread that easily through the air because it requires close contact with an infected person.
Monkeypox is primarily spread through sustained physical contact such as skin-to-skin touch with someone who has an active rash, CDC officials said this week. The virus can also spread through contact with materials that have the virus on it like shared bedding and clothing. But it can spread through respiratory droplets as well, although not nearly as easily as Covid-19, they said.

A monkeypox patient with lesions in their throat or mouth can spread the virus through respiratory droplets if they are around someone else for an extended period of time. However, the virus does not spread easily that way, according to Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, a CDC official.
“This is not Covid,” McQuiston told reporters on a call Monday. “Respiratory spread is not the predominant worry. It is contact and intimate contact in the current outbreak setting and population.”
For example, nine people with monkeypox took lengthy flights from Nigeria to other countries without infecting anyone else on the planes, according to McQuiston.
“It’s not a situation where if you’re passing someone in the grocery store, they’re going to be at risk for monkeypox,” she said.
The lesions that characterize monkeypox are the source from which the virus spreads, and people are most infectious when these lesions appear on the skin, according to Dr. John Brooks, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC’s division for AIDS prevention.

However, Brooks said front-line health-care providers should use the standard precautions for infectious diseases when treating a patient with monkeypox, including wearing a N95 respirator mask, gloves and a gown if contact with the patient is particularly close.
The U.S. has confirmed one monkeypox case in Massachusetts and four presumed cases in New York City, Florida and Utah that need further analysis. The CDC sequenced the virus from the Massachusetts patient within 48 hours and found a patient match in Portugal, McQuiston said. It’s likely that additional cases will be reported in the coming days, she said.
The recent monkeypox cases in the U.S. and around the world have been identified as the West African strain, a milder form of the virus. Monkeypox is in the same family as smallpox, but is not as severe. Most people who are infected with this strain of monkeypox recover in two to four weeks without specific treatment, McQuiston said.
Monkeypox usually begins with symptoms similar to the flu including fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, exhaustion and swollen lymph nodes. The disease then progresses to rashes that can spread to different parts of the body including the face, eyes, hands, feet, mouth or genitals. These rashes turn into raised bumps that become blisters. However, the rashes have appeared first in some of the recent cases.
The World Health Organization has identified about 200 confirmed or suspected cases in at least a dozen countries. The recent outbreaks are unusual because they are occurring in North American and European countries where the virus is not endemic, like in Africa. Monkeypox is usually found in West and Central African rainforests, home to animals that carry the virus live.
The WHO said this week the current virus appears to spreading among men who have sex with men. Brooks, the CDC official, alerted gay and bisexual men to the potential risk, though he emphasized that anyone can catch the virus regardless of sexual orientation.
Brooks said monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted disease, which generally spreads through semen and vaginal fluids. It’s important for physicians and individuals to know that some of the current patients have anal or genital lesions that can be confused with sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes or syphilis in addition to chickenpox, Brooks added.
“Anyone with a rash or lesion around or involving their genitals, their anus or any other place that they have not seen it before, should be fully evaluated, both for that rash but particularly for sexually transmitted infection and other illnesses that can cause rash,” he said.
The CDC plans to increase its public health messaging ahead of LGBTQ Pride Month, which starts in June, so people in the community are aware of the situation, Brooks said.
The recent monkeypox outbreak in multiple countries is also different from Covid because there are already federally approved vaccines effective in preventing monkeypox. The U.S. has a stockpile of 100 million doses of an older generation smallpox vaccine called ACAM2000, which can be used to protect against monkeypox, though it can have significant side effects and any decision to distribute it widely would require serious discussion, McQuiston said.
There’s another vaccine, Jynneos, that targets smallpox and monkeypox and does not have the same risk of significant side effects. It is administered in two doses for people ages 18 and older who are high risk of smallpox or monkeypox. However, the U.S. only has 1,000 available doses of this vaccine, though the drugmaker Bavarian Nordic will start ramping up its production in the coming weeks, McQuiston said.

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Nordstrom reported fiscal first-quarter sales ahead of analysts’ estimates.
Nordstrom also hiked its financial outlook for the full year, citing momentum in the business.
CEO Erik Nordstrom said the company has been able to capitalize on demand from people who are shopping for “long-awaited occasions.”

A pedestrian and cyclist wear facemasks outside a branch of department store chain Nordstrom in Santa Monica, California on May 11, 2020.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images

Nordstrom on Tuesday reported fiscal first-quarter sales ahead of analysts’ expectations and hiked its full-year outlook, citing momentum in the business as shoppers visited the company’s department stores to refresh their closets with designer brands and shoes.
Nordstrom now sees fiscal 2022 revenue, including credit card sales, up 6% to 8%, compared with a prior range of up 5% to 7%.

It forecasts earnings per share, excluding the impact of any share repurchase activity, in a range of $3.38 to $3.68, up from a prior range of $3.15 to $3.50. On an adjusted basis, it expects to earn between $3.20 and $3.50 a share.
Its shares jumped about 9% in after-hours trading on the news.
The optimistic outlook stands in contrast to retailers like Target, Kohl’s, Abercrombie & Fitch and a slew of others that in recent days dialed back their annual forecasts as supply chain costs and other expenses eat into profits. But Nordstrom’s business also hasn’t been operating in tandem with those other retailers.
Last fall, for example, as many retailers saw their sales rebound to above pre-pandemic levels, Nordstrom was still working to do so. Now, as retailers such as Macy’s lap more difficult year-over-year comparisons, Nordstrom is building off of a lower base.
Chief Executive Officer Erik Nordstrom said the company has been able to capitalize on demand from people who are shopping for “long-awaited occasions” as pandemic restrictions dissipate and invitations resume for weddings, reunions and other social gatherings.

Still, the retailer booked an adjusted per-share loss that was slightly wider than what analysts had been looking for.
Here’s how Nordstrom did in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a Refinitiv survey:

Loss per share: 6 cents adjusted vs. 5 cents expected
Revenue: $3.57 billion vs. $3.28 billion expected

Nordstrom reported net income for the three-month period ended April 30 of $20 million, or 13 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $166 million, or $1.05 per share, a year earlier.
Nordstrom lost 6 cents a share on an adjusted basis, excluding a gain resulting from the sale of the company’s interest in a corporate office building and an impairment charge related to a Trunk Club property. That per-share loss was a penny wider than what analysts had been looking for.
Nordstrom announced Tuesday that it plans to sunset its Trunk Club business, a personal styling platform — somewhat akin to Stitch Fix — that it acquired back in 2014. The company said it will be focusing resources instead on its own styling services available at Nordstrom.
Total revenue, including credit card sales, grew to $3.57 billion from $3 billion a year earlier. That beat expectations for $3.28 billion.
At Nordstrom’s namesake banner, net sales grew 23.5%, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Net sales at Nordstrom Rack rose 10.3% but were still below 2019 levels, the company said.
Nordstrom Rack, which competes with off-price chains such as TJX, Ross Stores and Macy’s Backstage, has struggled more so during the pandemic to secure merchandise from other retail brands, which it can then sell at a markdown. In April, Nordstrom announced plans to streamline ownership of the Rack business as it brought in a bench of executives with prior experience in off-price retail.
“By increasing our supply of premium brands and fine tuning our assortment to better align with customer needs, we are achieving a better balance of price points at the Rack,” Nordstrom management said in prepared remarks.
Digital sales were flat on a year-over-year basis, as shoppers trimmed their online spending and headed back to stores. E-commerce represented 39% of total sales, compared with 46% a year earlier.
Nordstrom said its urban stores, including its flagship location in New York City, performed the strongest during the quarter, as workers returned offices to nearby office buildings and tourist traffic rebounded. Collectively, urban store sales returned to pre-pandemic levels, the company said.
Chief Financial Officer Anne Bramman said that, so far, the company hasn’t seen inflationary cost pressures result in a pullback of customer spending. On a post-earnings conference call, she said that’s like due to to the “higher income profile and resiliency” of its customers.
Nordstrom ended the three-month period with inventory levels up 23.7% compared with a year earlier, in part because the company ordered extra goods to build a string stock of merchandise ahead of its upcoming, annual Anniversary Sale.
Also on Tuesday, Nordstrom announced it will soon start to sell shoes from Allbirds, making it one of the sustainable sneaker brand’s few third-party retail partners, and said it had authorized a new $500 million buyback.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct that Nordstrom announced on Tuesday it will soon start to sell shoes from Allbirds. An earlier version misstated the timing of the announcement.

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The Biden administration will ban Russia’s government from paying bondholders through American banks starting Wednesday morning.
The move increases the odds that Russia will default on its outstanding debt.
It is the latest sanction against that country by the United States in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin towers and Ivan the Great Cathedral in Moscow.
Kirill Kudryavtsev | Afp | Getty Images

The Biden administration will ban Russia’s government from paying bondholders through American banks starting Wednesday morning, the Treasury Department said.
The move increases the odds that Russia will default on its outstanding debt.

It is the latest sanction against that country by the United States in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden administration since the invasion had granted a crucial exception to sanctions on Russia’s central bank, allowing that bank to process payments to bondholders through U.S. and international banks.
But that exception will go away at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to a bulletin issued by the Treasury Department entitled, “Notice on Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions General License 9C.”
JPMorgan Chase & Co. research has said Russa is faced with nearly $400 million in payments due on dollar-denominated bonds on June 23 and June 24, according to a report by Dow Jones.
Timothy Ash, a senior sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, earlier this month noted to CNBC that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers economic and trade sanctions, “can act any time to stop Western institutions from processing bond repayments” by Russia.
“OFAC can force Russia into default at any time. OFAC is still in the driving seat,” Ash said.

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