Economy

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain imposed sanctions on Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich and Igor Sechin, the chief executive of Russian oil giant Rosneft, hitting them with asset freezes and travel bans because of their links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.The two billionaires plus businessman Oleg Deripaska and four other Russian oligarchs are the most high-profile figures to be added to the British sanctions list since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and follows criticism that Britain has been acting too slowly.The action puts on ice Abramovich’s plans to sell the Premier League club, the current European champions, although the government said the team could still carry on playing. “There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.”Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.”There had been loud calls from British lawmakers for action to be taken against Abramovich and other Russian oligarchs, with criticism that Johnson’s government was not moving fast enough compared to the European Union and the United States.Sechin, who Britain described as Putin’s right hand man, was already on the U.S. and EU sanctions lists and last week French authorities seized his yacht.15 BILLION POUNDSThe others added to the list were Oleg Deripaska, who has stakes in En+ Group, Dmitri Lebedev, chairman of Bank Rossiya, Alexei Miller, the chief executive of energy company Gazprom (MCX:GAZP), and Nikolai Tokarev, the president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft.In total Britain said the seven figures added to the sanctions list had a collective net worth of 15 billion pounds. ($19.74 billion).Thursday’s action means Abramovich is banned from carrying out transactions with British individuals and businesses, and cannot enter or stay in Britain. His spokeswoman declined immediate comment.Last week, he announced that he would sell Chelsea and donate money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine. Abramovich is the biggest shareholder in London-listed Russian steelmaker Evraz. It fell 16% after the sanctions were announced.The entry on Britain’s sanctions list described Abramovich, who Britain said was worth 9 billion pounds, as “a prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch”. It said he had enjoyed “a close relationship for decades” with the Russian president.It said this association with Putin had brought Abramovich a financial or material benefit from either the Russian president directly, or the Russian government.”This includes tax breaks received by companies linked to Abramovich, buying and selling shares from and to the state at favourable rates, and the contracts received in the run up to the FIFA 2018 World Cup,” the website said.($1 = 0.7599 pounds) More

ALISHER USMANOVAlisher Usmanov, 68, metals and telecoms tycoon with an estimated $16.2 billion net worth has been sanctioned by the United States and European UnionSeized: – A villa in Golfo del Pevero, on the island of Sardinia, worth approximately $19 million was seized by Italian authorities.Suspended: – The $600 million Dilbar superyacht is sitting in a Hamburg shipyard with authorities saying they have no plans to deliver it to the owner.- Everton F.C. suspended its $15 million plus naming rights deal with Usmanov’s holding company USM. – Usmanov gave up his presidency of the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime, fencing’s highest body, and said he would no longer play a role in the organisation.- A Bombardier (OTC:BDRBF) jet linked to Usmanov is one of a number of Russian planes reportedly stranded at the EuroPort airport, in the French Alsace, by Swiss airspace closures.Sailing away:- An Airbus A340 Prestige jet linked to Usmanov flew out of Munich, Germany to Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Feb. 28 and hasn’t been tracked since, according to Radar Box data.Softly, softly:- The U.S. treasury, while blocking Usmanov’s personal assets, has left companies controlled by him off their list of sanctions in an effort not to raise the price of commodities.ROMAN ABRAMOVICHRoman Abramovich, 55, billionaire politician dubbed ‘Putin’s banker’ with an estimated $12.3 billion fortune is not on any sanctions listFor sale:- Abramovich announced Chelsea Football Club was for sale and he would donate the proceeds to victims of the Ukraine war. – British MP Chris Bryant has said Abramovich is trying to sell his 15-bedroom mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens to avoid sanctions. He bought the home in the area of London nicknamed “Billionaire’s row” for 90 million pounds ($119 million) in 2011.Stranded:- An aircraft linked to Abramovich is at Europort Airport, unable to leave due to Swiss airspace restrictions.Signed over:- New York property records show a trio of Upper East Side properties worth $92.3 million are tied to his ex-wife Dasha Zhukova, a New York real estate developer married to shipping heir Stavros Niarchos. She is also building the 21-story Ray Harlem, which will house the National Black Theater, according to her website. Sailing away:- The $600 million Solaris yacht linked to Abramovich left the Barcelona shipyard where it had been undergoing repairs on Tuesday, March 8. [L2N2VC0HH]- A Boeing (NYSE:BA) 787-8 linked to Abramovich flew from Moscow to Dubai on March 4, according to Radarbox data.OLEG DERIPASKAOleg Deripaska, 54, industrialist who founded aluminium giant Rusal was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 Swarmed, not seized:- FBI agents raided a historic New York townhouse at 12 Gay Street, in Greenwich Village, and a Washington D.C. mansion connected to Deripaska in October. The tycoon responded on social media by saying nobody was living in those properties. – “I have to ask: how much of Putin’s money was found in those abandoned houses yesterday?” he said, sarcastically inquiring whether investigators had discovered any mouldy jam or vodka in the cupboards.- Through an LLC in the British Virgin Islands, Deripaska also owns a townhouse on 11 E. 64th Street, which he bought for $42.5 million in 2008, according to New York court records. – These properties have not been seized by the government, despite sanctions that prevent him from doing business or owning property in the United States. – Deripaska’s British Virgin Islands holding company also owns 5 Belgrave Square. He bought the mansion in the exclusive Belgravia area of London for 25 million pounds ($33 million) in 2003, according to multiple media reports. Softened:- U.S. sanctions were lifted against Rusal and its parent company En+ in 2019 when Deripaska reduced his stakes below a majority threshold to 44.95%. There are still concerns, however, that the Russian oligarch is pulling the strings of his business empire behind the scenes. Sailing away: – Deripaska’s $65 million yacht Clio is one of several vessels owned by billionaires anchored in the Maldives, which does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S., according to shipping database MarineTraffic.VLADIMIR POTANINVladimir Potanin, 61, the CEO of Norilsk Nickel with an estimated net worth of $22 billion has not been sanctioned by the EU or United States.Stepping down:- The Guggenheim Museum said Potanin was stepping down as one of its trustees last week. He had held the position since 2002, acting as a major benefactor and sponsoring shows, including a Kandinsky show currently in New York. Sailing away:- The billionaire’s 88-metre (290-foot) yacht Nirvana sailed to the Maldives, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, according to MarineTraffic.- Potanin is estimated to have lost nearly a quarter of his wealth since sanctions impacted the ruble and the Russian economy, according to Bloomberg.IGOR SECHINIgor Sechin, 61, CEO of Rosneft viewed as one of the most powerful people in Russia, has been sanctioned by the United States, EU and Britain. Seized:- French customs officers seized Sechin’s 190-foot (58-metre) Amore Vero yacht worth $120 million as it was trying to flee a French Riviera port.ALEXEY MORDASHOVAlexey Mordashov, 56, a son of mill worker who became a steel magnate with estimated net worth of $29.1 billion is on an EU sanctions listShifted:- Mordashov shifted his holdings in travel and tourism group TUI after sanctions were imposed on him, Bloomberg reported. – A UK filing showed the steel tycoon had shifted a $1.1 billion stake in mining company Nordgold to his wife Marina, according to Bloomberg.Seized:Italian authorities seized Mordashov’s Lady M yacht, moored in Imperia, and valued at 65 million euros ($72 million). EUGENE SHVIDLEREugene Shvidler, 57, business associate of Roman Abramovich with estimated net worth of $1.7 billion Seized:- Britain impounded a private jet it said was linked to Shvidler at Farnborough airport under new aviation sanctions that give it authority to detain any Russian aircraft. [L2N2VC0DV]VLADIMIR SOLOVIEVVladimir Soloviev, 58, pro-Putin Russian TV host who is on the EU sanction listSeized:- Two properties in Lake Como worth 8 million euros belonging to Soloviev were seized by Italian authorities. GENNADY TIMCHENKOGennady Timchenko, 69, chairman of the Russian national hockey league with stakes in oil and gas companies has been sanctioned by the United States and EUSeized:- Italy seized Timchenko’s 50 million euro ($55 million)yacht called Lena as it was moored in San Remo. OLEG SAVCHENKOOleg Savchenko, a member of Russia’s parliament Seized:- Savchenko’s 17th Century Tuscan villa Lazzareschi worth 3 million euros was taken by Italian authorities.PETR AVENPetr Aven, oil investor who built a European business empire with an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion is on an EU sanctions listSuspended- Aven’s stake in his LetterOne Investment company, with holdings in Spain’s Dia supermaket chain and a German energy group, was frozen following the EU’s sanctions. [L5N2VA4XA] – Latvia’s government is looking to revoke his citizenship, despite having announced plans to open a museum there a week before the war in Ukraine started, the FT reported. Stepped down- Stepped down as trustee at the Royal Academy of the Arts in London. The arts organisation said it would return his donation toward its current Fancis Bacon exhibition. MIKHAIL FRIDMANMikhail Fridman, Aven’s partner at LetterOne with an estimated net worth of $12.3 billion are on EU sanctions listStepped down:- Withdrew from the LetterOne investment firm he confounded [L5N2VA4XA] Suspended:- Pamplona Capital management said it had began disentangling itself from LetterOne. Other banks told the FT they are also reviewing their lending relationships. – Fridman’s north London home, which he bought for 65 million pounds ($86 million) in 2016, is not believed to have been frozen as he is not subject to UK sanctions, according to multiple media reports. ALEXANDER ABRAMOVAlexander Abramov, cofounder and chairman of Russian steel producer Evraz, with an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion is not sanctioned Sailing away: – Abramov’s yacht The Titan arrived in the Maldives last week, according to MarineTraffic($1 = 0.7597 pounds)($1 = 0.9058 euros) More

US consumer price growth is expected to have accelerated last month ahead of a surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, raising pressure on the Federal Reserve to more substantively tighten monetary policy.The consumer price index (CPI) is set to have increased another 0.8 per cent month on month in February, according to consensus forecasts compiled by Bloomberg, following a 0.6 per cent increase in January.From a year ago, prices are forecast to have increased 7.8 per cent, the fastest pace since January 1982. Once highly volatile items like food and energy are stripped out, “core” CPI is set to have jumped 6.4 per cent over that period, or 0.5 per cent on a month-to-month basis. The data will be published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30am Eastern Time on Thursday.The report captures the period just before Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine, which prompted the US and its allies to unveil among the most punitive financial penalties ever levied on a country. In addition to slapping sanctions on Russia’s central bank and ringfencing the country from the global financial system, the Biden administration this week banned imports of Russian oil and gas into the US.The actions caused global energy markets to seize up, sending gas and oil prices rocketing. Prices for wheat, nickel and other commodities also soared.Headline inflation is set to push higher as a result and the peak in the pace of consumer price growth that was broadly expected later this year is likely to be delayed. Economists fear that a prolonged crisis could not only dent growth, but also further entrench inflationary pressures that have already begun to take root across a broad swath of the economy.Market measures of inflation expectations have moved higher in recent days to reflect these concerns, with the popular two-year break-even rate climbing above 4 per cent after the invasion. A swap rate that measures what five-year inflation expectations will be in five years’ time has also jumped, and at 2.7 per cent is well above the Fed’s 2 per cent core inflation target.However, ongoing geopolitical tensions are not expected to knock the Fed off course. It is on track to raise interest rates at its policy meeting next week, but the conflict may complicate the path forward for policy. At congressional testimonies this month Jay Powell, Fed chair, who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term, laid out the central bank’s plans to tackle the highest inflation in 40 years. The Fed is expected to proceed with a quarter-point interest rate at its policy meeting next week, and will then seek to move the federal funds rate closer to a level that neither aids nor constrains economic activity — also known as neutral rate and estimated to be between 2 and 2.5 per cent.Half-point interest rate increases, which have not been used in more than two decades, are firmly on the table for one or more meetings, Powell said. He also acknowledged that it may be appropriate to lift rates above neutral, increasing the risk of a recession. More

Prices in the year though February were expected to have risen 7.8 percent, which would be the fastest pace of inflation in 40 years as gas prices increased and an array of goods and services became more expensive.Fresh Consumer Price Index data is set for release Thursday morning, and that estimate — the median in a Bloomberg survey of economists — underscores the grim reality facing economic policymakers. Climbing prices are hitting consumers in the pocketbook, causing their confidence to fall and stretching household budgets. The burden is falling most intensely on lower-income households, which devote a big chunk of their budgets to daily necessities that are rapidly becoming costlier.The quickest inflation in most Americans’ lifetimes is hurting President Biden politically, and the challenge could grow temporarily worse amid fallout from sanctions and other economic responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has already pushed gas prices higher. Rising prices tend to make voters unhappy, posing trouble for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections in November.Understand Inflation in the U.S.Inflation 101: What is inflation, why is it up and whom does it hurt? Our guide explains it all.Your Questions, Answered: Times readers sent us their questions about rising prices. Top experts and economists weighed in.How Americans Feel: We asked 2,200 people where they’ve noticed inflation. Many mentioned basic necessities, like food and gas.Supply Chain’s Role: A key factor in rising inflation is the continuing turmoil in the global supply chain. Here’s how the crisis unfolded.They are also a problem for the Federal Reserve, which is in charge of achieving price stability. The central bank has signaled it will raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point at its meeting next week, likely the first in a series of moves meant to increase the cost of borrowing and spending money and slow down the economy. By reducing consumption and slowing the labor market, the Fed is able to take some pressure off inflation over time.“Mortgage rates will go up, the rates for car loans — all of those rates that affect consumers’ buying decisions,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, told Congress last week. “Housing prices won’t go up as much, and equity prices won’t go up as much, so people will spend less.”Even as the Fed prepares to rein in demand, high gas costs tied to the conflict in Ukraine threaten to keep inflation elevated for longer. They could become a serious issue for central bank policymakers if they help convince consumers that the burst in prices will last. If people begin to expect inflation, they may change their behavior in ways that make it more permanent — accepting price increases more readily and asking for bigger raises to keep up.This is just the latest instance, as far as prices go, in which what can go wrong does seem to be going wrong.Inflation F.A.Q.Card 1 of 6What is inflation? More

The West has imposed sweeping sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. “Our economy is experiencing a shock impact now and there are negative consequences, they will be minimised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. He described the situation as turbulent, but said that measures to calm and stabilise it were already being taken.”This is absolutely unprecedented. The economic war that has started against our country has never taken place before. So it is very hard to forecast anything.” More

Supply chain bottlenecks, which the conflict has aggravated, mean that some economists’ forecasts from the beginning of the year for 3-4% economic growth in 2022 were “waste paper”, BGA President Dirk Jandura said in a statement.”Companies are holding the line and supporting the German government’s stance in the sanctions against Russia,” Jandura added. “The current sanctions are also having an effect on us … And nevertheless, the sanctions are right.”Some 62% of several hundred BGA member firms surveyed expected a slowdown as a result of the conflict and 32% feared an interruption of the economic recovery, the association said.Increased pressure on suppliers stemming from the conflict meant that a decline in inflation from around 5% could not be expected in the medium-term, Jandura said.Although Russia accounted for only 3% of Germany’s foreign trade, the impact of the Ukraine conflict is rippling through a globally networked economy with changes to flight routes, for example, leading to delayed and more expensive goods.The BGA cited aluminium producers and the food trade as areas that could be affected by bottlenecks, along with toilet paper and kitchen roll, and chemical cleaning agents.Transport problems were exacerbated by higher fuel costs and a shortage of Ukrainian truck drivers, it said.Germany’s BGL Federal Association for road haulage, logistics and waste disposal said the logistics sector in Europe was suffering from the loss of more than 100,000 Ukrainian truck drivers due to conscription orders.To address record-high fuel prices, the BGL called for a crisis summit with the government and tax relief for the logistics sector.”Companies are really desperate,” said BGL chief Dirk Engelhardt. “That’s why we as an industry are calling for temporary support from the state.” More

Good morning and welcome to Europe Express.We’re now two weeks into the war in Ukraine and its ripple effects are being felt globally — including on Europe’s single currency. With the European Central Bank’s governing council meeting today in Frankfurt, we’ll look at why the euro depreciation is a matter of concern and what economists expect to happen in terms of monetary policy. Later in the day, EU leaders will gather in Versailles for a two-day summit revolving around the bloc’s response to the war, France’s ambitions for EU defence and how to pay for priorities including energy security. One topic central and eastern members insist on discussing is that of Ukraine’s EU membership — as the foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba is pleading for in this Financial Times op-ed. Kuleba will be meeting his Russian counterpart for the first time since the war started, in Turkey today.Meanwhile as the FT reported first, the EU added 14 more Russian businessmen with close links to the Kremlin and 146 lawmakers to its asset freeze and travel ban list and expanded its financial sanctions to Belarus.With more financial aid to Ukraine being pledged by several international financial institutions — we’ll hear from Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, about her plans for the country.And in more signs that the Covid-19 pandemic has been relegated to the prewar era, we’ll bring you a dispatch from Strasbourg, where the European parliament is returning to business as usual and ending its remote voting system.Euro bluesThe euro has become a focal point for investor angst about how the fallout from the war in Ukraine will hit the European economy, writes Martin Arnold in Frankfurt. The single currency fell close to a five-year low against the US dollar after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, before regaining some ground in recent days.The depreciation of the euro will be a concern for the European Central Bank, which meets today to discuss monetary policy and issue new economic forecasts.While a weaker euro is a boost for eurozone exporters, what worries the ECB is that it will add to already record levels of inflation by pushing up the cost of imports, particularly for dollar-priced oil and gas.Spyros Andreopoulos, a senior European economist at BNP Paribas who used to work on monetary policy at the ECB, said the drop in value of the single currency had “raised the question of whether the ECB could intervene in foreign exchange markets to shore it up”. Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have already intervened to support their currencies.However, Andreopoulos said the most the ECB was likely to do was verbal intervention. “They can talk about how the exchange rate is a factor affecting the inflation outlook,” he said. “But when it comes to direct intervention in foreign exchange markets, the bar is very high, in our view.”The last time the ECB intervened in foreign exchange markets was in 2011 to stabilise the currency after the Japanese tsunami. It intervened more heavily when the euro fell below parity with the dollar shortly after its launch in 2000, but this had limited success.After falling to a 22-month low of just above $1.08 at the start of this week, the euro has since rebounded to $1.11 as investors focused on reports that the EU could raise more debt to finance extra investment on energy and defence by member states. Despite its recent rally, the single currency remains well below the levels of around $1.15 it reached a month ago. One factor putting downward pressure on the euro is the expectation that Europe will be hit harder than the US by the Ukraine crisis, mainly because of Europe’s greater reliance on Russian oil and gas imports.The US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates this month, which could drive the euro down further against the dollar, especially as most analysts think the Ukraine crisis could delay an ECB rate rise until at least next year. “Market participants also see rate hikes as a way to limit the depreciation of the euro, which is only adding to imported inflation,” said Frederik Ducrozet, a strategist at Pictet Wealth Management, adding: “We doubt that the ECB could act alone to support the currency in the event of further market disruptions.”Chart du jour: Arming UkraineThe US alone is this week due to consider a $12bn spending package for Ukraine, with $4.8bn dedicated to defence spending. Adjusted for inflation, that roughly equates to the landmark $400mn package the US provided Greece and Turkey in 1947 in a move that marked the start of the US’s cold war policy in Europe and, two years later, the foundation of Nato. (More here)Financing Ukraine The chief of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has warned of a “major shock” emanating from the Ukraine crisis as she announced a support package of €2bn for the country and others directly surrounding it, writes Sam Fleming in Brussels. Odile Renaud-Basso told Europe Express that the consequences of the crisis are now being felt well beyond the immediate neighbourhood of Ukraine and across the body of countries that the bank serves. The EBRD operates in regions including central and eastern Europe, north Africa, and central Asia. Symptoms of the strains from the crisis include currency depreciations and rising borrowing costs for some emerging markets, the bank’s president said. Among the key drivers of the economic damage are rising energy prices, surging food costs driven in part by fears of interruptions in grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, and surging costs of other raw materials including metals. “We can see that this war has a very dramatic and huge impact on Ukraine but it will have wider repercussions worldwide and in particular in our countries of operation,” she said. “We will do as much as is needed and as much as we can in order to support the country and the region.” Renaud-Basso spoke after the IMF yesterday approved $1.4bn in aid to Ukraine. “This is a vital step to help the authorities get through the devastating effects of this war,” tweeted managing director Kristalina Georgieva.The World Bank also this month said it was mobilising support of more than $700mn for Ukraine, which comes on top of a €1.2bn macrofinancial assistance package from the EU and other pledges of financial support. Renaud-Basso said that there was now a “huge” amount of financial support in place because of the war in Ukraine. “Whether this will be enough I cannot judge at this stage,” she said. The EBRD this month proposed the formal suspension of any access to its resources and expertise by Russia and Belarus. Asked if there were discussions about ejecting the countries from its register of government shareholders, Renaud-Basso said there was a broader question facing the international community of how to deal with the two countries’ memberships in international institutions. Business as usualThe European parliament is the latest institution to declare the Covid-19 pandemic over. A majority of its political parties agreed to end hybrid plenary sessions from next month and require members to be present to vote, writes Andy Bounds in Strasbourg.MEPs have been able to meet — and vote — virtually since the pandemic hit in early 2020. While committees can carry on with this system, the conference of presidents, which consists of the leaders of the political groups, agreed to enforce a physical presence from April.The Greens voted against, arguing that the vulnerable and recent mothers who do not want to leave their babies could be disenfranchised, and that 705 MEPs commuting to Strasbourg again will drive up the institution’s carbon footprint.One parliamentary insider also said there was considerable pushback from MEPs coming from more distant member states. “They have got used to the time saving and spending more time with their constituents.”A spokeswoman for the centrist Renew group said it would consider opt-outs in limited cases but “we need to get back to normal. You cannot conduct negotiations on Zoom as you can over a coffee.”Véronique Trillet-Lenoir, an MEP with France’s En Marche party and medical doctor, said the time had come to meet face to face again. “The name parliament comes from parler and we need to come together to talk again,” she told Europe Express.Not that the pandemic has stopped dealmaking. Indeed after more than 15 years, parliamentary groups yesterday reached a deal to have transnational MEPs. As of the next legislature, 28 seats could be allocated based on voting by the entire EU population aged 16 or above, provided this is approved unanimously by member states. Chances are, this could happen — since Brexit freed up 46 seats for the 2024 elections so national countries will not have to sacrifice seats to the European cause. Several national governments including in France and Germany have already embraced the plan.What to watch today European Central Bank governing council meets in FrankfurtEU leaders meet in Versailles for a two-day informal summitUkrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba meets Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in AntalyaPoland’s president Andrzej Duda receives US vice-president Kamala Harris and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in WarsawNotable, Quotable

Fiscal rules debate: In an interview with the FT, the commission’s vice-president in charge of financial matters, Valdis Dombrovskis, expressed caution over ideas from some national capitals that money they borrow to fund green projects or even defence could be exempted from the bloc’s debt reduction rules. He also said that member states should first tap €200bn of unused loans available under the bloc’s recovery plan before considering more collective borrowing.Nuclear alarm: Ukraine has raised the alarm over the impact of Russia’s invasion on nuclear facilities after fighting near Chernobyl caused a power outage yesterday and staff at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, have been held at the plant since it was taken over by invading Russian forces on Friday.Multibillion hit: UniCredit has warned that it faced losses of about €7bn in an “extreme scenario” if its entire Russian business is wiped out, adding that its net cross-border exposure to companies amounts to €4.5bn, of which about 5 per cent had been hit by western sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine. More

The subdued outlook comes as the industry is lobbying aggressively for Congress to extend subsidies that have been critical to its growth. If solar tax credits are not renewed, the report by energy research firm Wood Mackenzie and industry trade group Solar Energy Industries Association warned, the nation will not meet President Joe Biden’s goal of decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2035. Solar accounted for nearly half of all new U.S. generation capacity last year thanks to robust demand for clean energy from utilities, homeowners and businesses, according to the report. In total, the industry installed 23.6 gigawatts of projects, of which nearly three quarters were large installations for utilities and other big customers. But that market segment is expected to decline 14% next year as developers cancel or delay projects due to higher costs and supply constraints stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.The cost of solar projects has soared 18% in the last year, the report said, a major about-face for an industry that had experienced dramatic price declines over the last decade that have enabled it to compete with fossil-fuel-fired projects.A 30% tax credit for solar projects, which the industry wants Congress to keep in place for 10 years, would expand the industry’s capacity to 700 gigawatts by 2032, compared with 464 GW without those incentives, the report said.Texas was the top state for new solar installations in 2021, followed by California, Florida, Virginia and Georgia. More