Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,

From bud to bloom, harvest to vase, the trail of the rose that ends on Valentine’s Day is a model of supply chain synchronicity perfected over the past half-century.

More than 90 percent of the roses Americans will buy for Valentine’s Day were grown on co-op farms on the Andean slopes of Colombia and Ecuador, pinched to induce buds in November, cut only days ago, and flown to Miami International Airport to be shipped in refrigerated trucks within hours to wholesalers nationwide.

Rose stems cut in Colombia this morning could be in a florist shop in Columbia, South Carolina, tonight.

“If you ask most consumers where [the] flowers come from that are in their supermarket, most of them think they’re locally grown in somebody’s backyard, but they’re not,” Christine Boldt, executive vice president of the Association of Floral Importers of America, told The Epoch Times.

The association represents about 85 percent of the 150 or so floral importers that operate out of warehouses clustered within five miles of the airport in Miami, she said.

Last year, Americans spent $2.6 billion on flowers, with 40 percent purchased on Valentine’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation, which projects similar spending in 2025. Overall, U.S. consumers spent $25.8 billion celebrating Valentine’s Day in 2024, which is estimated to increase to a record $27.5 billion this year.

“The supply chain of flowers is a marvel of speed, planning, and global collaboration,” Elizabeth Daly, director of marketing and communications at the Society of American Florists, told The Epoch Times.

The society, which represents more than 7,000 florist retailers and wholesalers, cites estimates from USTradeNumbers.com that predict the nation’s 40,000 florists will sell approximately $1.67 billion in roses during the week of Valentine’s Day. Still, supermarkets and 1-800-FLOWERS are the largest single retailers of cut flowers.

More than 60 percent of Valentine’s roses come from Colombia, with Ecuador providing about 25 percent, Boldt said.

Colombia’s cut-flower industry, which did not export its first shipment until 1968, now wholesales more than $2 billion a year to the United States and employs more than 200,000 people—mostly women—on small farms of fewer than 20 acres, according to Asocolflores, the Colombian association of flower exporters.

When Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to accept U.S. military flights carrying deportees to Colombia in late January, Trump threatened a 25 percent tariff on Colombian exports, including Valentine’s Day roses. Within a day, Petro relented, and Trump lifted the tariff.

“That was a turbulent ride,” Boldt said. “But we’re hoping that … everyone understands that Colombia, number one, is our partner. I mean, they are a main supplier, main source.”

An employee cuts roses for export at Bojaca Flowers in Bojacá, Colombia, on Feb. 7, 2024. More than 60 percent of Valentine’s roses come from Colombia, according to Christine Boldt. Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images

The United States has a free trade agreement with Colombia, but not with Ecuador.

“We’ve been paying duties for over four years now because the Generalized System of Preferences expired,” Boldt said. “So we’ve been trying to work on that.”

The Generalized System of Preferences allows duty-free or low-duty imports from developing countries. The system expired during Trump’s first term, and bills seeking to renew it have stalled.

Loading Up, Shipping Out

The fulcrum on which the entire system pivots is Miami, where 8 billion or more flower stems arrive yearly for nationwide distribution. Miami has more than 100 refrigerated warehouses that employ more than 6,100 people, primarily west of Miami International Airport.

Boldt said that 91 percent of flowers enter the United States through southern Florida, with 90 percent to 95 percent by air and the remainder by sea containers.

On average, Miami International Airport handles 32,500 boxes of flowers per day. But as Valentine’s Day nears, up to 50 cargo jets deliver as many as 95,000 boxes of flowers daily, according to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department’s marketing division.

Within 24 hours of being cut, flowers are hauled from rural farms to Bogotá, Colombia, or Quito, Ecuador, where they are packed onto FedEx, UPS, or DHL temperature-controlled jets. The Colombian airline Avianca doubles its daily cargo flights to Miami in the month leading up to Valentine’s Day.

“Upon arriving at Miami International Airport, shipments undergo inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where specialists check for pests and diseases,“ Daly said. ”Once cleared, flowers are sent to wholesale distribution centers across the country, where cold storage ensures their freshness.”

Wholesalers sort the flowers by quality, color, and variety before shipping them to florists, she said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists inspect flowers for foreign pests or diseases in the FedEx cargo hub at Miami International Airport in Miami on Feb. 12, 2025. FedEx transfers millions of fresh flowers through the hub for Valentine’s Day by increasing air capacity from Colombia and Ecuador. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

“Florists then prepare the blooms for customers by trimming, hydrating, and creating bouquets,” Daly said. “This entire process—from South American farms to U.S. homes—occurs within days, showcasing the precision and time sensitivity required to ensure that flowers arrive fresh and vibrant for their recipients.”

For Leo Victoria, co-owner of American Floral Cargo, “Jan. 15 is the exact date Valentine’s Day started, and Feb. 10 is when it ends.”

Orders are finalized in December, and “the logistics part” begins with the final two weeks before the one-day holiday. It is a race against time, he said.

American Floral Cargo has hired 15 extra hands to load and unload trucks and sort out pallets of rose boxes for distribution, Victoria said.

Ten days before Valentine’s Day, in the early afternoon, his office and warehouse were in a midday lull. The morning dispatch of loaded trucks had left the warehouse bound for California and as far away as Vancouver, Canada.

By the weekend, trucks would be headed for the Carolinas and New England, Victoria said, with the last round of deliveries in the final days dedicated to Florida.

“By 6 p.m., the trucks will be bringing more flowers from the airport, and by morning, they are shipped, and the process begins again,” he said.

Next door at Armellini Logistics—one of 30 independent Miami trucking companies that almost exclusively transports flowers in refrigerated tractor trailers—owner Steve Armellini was dodging pallet jacks in the warehouse, which maintains a temperature of 38 degrees to 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Steve Armellini, owner of Armellini Logistics, said his 80-year-old family-owned business ships flowers nationwide for 150 importers, at his company near Miami International Airport, in Miami on Feb. 4, 2025. John Haughey/The Epoch Times

About 580 trucks leave the warehouse each day, but it will be “700 a day for the next 10 days,” he said.

Armellini said his 80-year-old family business ships across the country and into Canada. The company also has six terminals where wholesalers can pick up deliveries in California, Dallas, Atlanta, and Florida.

Armellini’s largest single customer is Publix. The Florida-based grocery chain usually orders about “50 loads a week,” with that ballooning “to more than 100” as Valentine’s Day nears, he said. Publix actually has a desk in his office.

“If they deal with flowers, they deal with me somehow,” Armellini said, noting that he ships for 150 companies, including American Floral Cargo.

He said the company’s motto is “Tomorrow’s product today; we’re always a day ahead.”

“A lot of logistics going on,” he said, “flower after flower after flower.”

Read more here…

While the rest of the world gives Jamie Dimon flak for the leaked audio of him running a tight ship at his bank this past week, it was mostly music to our ears.

After years of junior bankers on Wall Street – many of whom are now starting with salaries close to $200,000/year – complaining about not having enough time off, being forced to work weekends and lack of vegan options in the company cafeteria (we just assume), audio surfaced this past week with JP Morgan’s Chief Executive Officer launching into a tirade about ‘working from home’.

As Barron’s notes, employees are frustrated by the bank’s upcoming five-day office mandate and lower-than-expected raises and bonuses despite record profits. Dimon made remarks to a group of employees at an internal town hall this week.

“We allowed three days and two days. But here are the problems, OK? And they are substantial. The younger generation is being damaged by this. They may or may not be in your particular staff, but they are being left behind—socially, in terms of ideas, and in meeting people. In fact, my guess is most of you live in communities a hell of a lot less diverse than this room,” Dimon said.

“And so, it had all these kinds of effects. We actually see these other kids slowly being left behind, and I won’t do that to younger kids. Now, it’s hard to say… ‘You come in, but not your bosses.’ And the other thing, which was full of sh—, which I couldn’t stand listening to anymore, is, ‘Well, if I come in, I just Zoomed to people somewhere.’ So, I also said what you can’t do—which is, we have people Zooming in from different floors. If you’re in the building, go to the meeting.”

“We also had—and you know I’m right about this one—a lot of you were on the f— Zoom, and you were doing the following: looking at your mail, sending texts to each other about what an a— the other person is, not paying attention, not reading your stuff. And if you don’t think that slows down efficiency, creativity, and creates rudeness—it does.”

The CEO continued, railing on the bank’s headcount: “Meanwhile, headcount has gone up by 50,000 people in four, five years. And people tell me, ‘Well, you know…’”

“We don’t need all those people. We were putting people in jobs because the people weren’t doing the job they were hired to do in the first place. It simply doesn’t work. I will not be responsible for a company like that, OK? And I’m sorry. Now—you have a choice. You don’t have to work at JPMorgan. So, for those of you who don’t want to work at the company, that’s fine with me.”

“I’m not mad at you, don’t be mad at me. It’s a free country, you can walk with your feet. But this company is going to set our own standards and do it our own way. I’ve had it with this kind of stuff. I’ve been working seven days a goddamn week since COVID, and I come in, and—where is everybody else? They’re here, they’re there, the Zooms, and the Zooms don’t show up… That’s not how you run a great company.”

He continued: “We didn’t build this great company by doing that, by doing the same…s— that everyone else does. So, you wait and see what happens over time to companies that are in this business. I mean, I think you can be in other industries and do it.”

The other thing—and this has nothing to do with work from home, so I apologize. There will be some exceptions made, but I will see them personally, OK? I’m not going to put up with any of this stuff… There’s no special deals in this company.

“When I found out that people were doing that—you don’t do that in my goddamn meetings. If you’re going to meet with me, you’ve got my attention, you’ve got my focus, I don’t bring my goddamn phone, I’m not sending texts to people. It simply doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for creativity, it slows down decision-making. And don’t give me this s— that work-from-home Friday works. I call a lot of people on Fridays, and there’s not a goddamn person you can get a hold of.”

Jamie Diamond has seen enough

“Fucking zoom” 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/0fbCBWtRMF

— @jason (@Jason) February 14, 2025

Dimon concluded: “And remember, the team’s got to work. I manage a company, and we have an operating committee meeting, and we’re not all there. Sometimes, there’s people Zooming in from somewhere, they travel, but all day, we’re talking to each other—‘What about this? What about that?’ with the constant follow-up, which you don’t have by Zoom on any team.”

“Most of these big financial companies, everyone had winks and nods and friends of friends, and special this—there’s none of that. And that’s what this became, OK? I think that pollutes a company over time.

The other thing which I’ve noticed more and more is the creeping—and you guys know I hate bureaucracy, remember bureaucracy busters?—it just doesn’t stop. It’s us. I blame myself, too. How many of you take training classes that you think are a waste of time? Compliance classes that you think are a waste of time? Or go through legal, risk, compliance-type stuff—multiple committees to get multiple approvals? How many of you think there’s a lot of bureaucracy that we gotta do something about? Just raise your hand in general. That’s part of the problem.”

“That’s unacceptable to me. What I worry about—I want the company to be as successful in 10 years as it is today. What happened to GE, Sears, Kmart? What happened to Nokia, BlackBerry? And then you had Apple and Amazon. It’s even worse in financial services—what happened to Bear Stearns? Lehman Brothers? Travelers? Citibank? A hundred percent of mortgage brokerages—all bankrupt.”

“Everyone fired, jobs lost, reputations lost, and it was complacency and bureaucracy. In every single case. The people weren’t stupid, but the places got slower and more accepting of not doing their homework, and stuff like that. And I won’t put up with it.”

And the cherry on top — as we noted earlier in the week, Dimon, who was once all in on DEI initiatives, is now railing against them: 

“I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid sh-t, and it really pissed me off,” Jamie Dimon said during a townhall discussion about JPM’s DEI spending choices. “I’m just gonna cancel them. I don’t like wasted money in bureaucracy.” cc: @robbystarbuck

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 14, 2025

Days after Democrats threatened to shut down the government in response to Elon Musk and DOGE shutting down the government – planning to deprive House Speaker Mike Johnson of a few Democrat votes to override GOP hardliner holdouts to avoid an upcoming government shutdown, the joke’s on them. 

On Thursday, hard-line conservatives and House Republican leadership reached a last-minute agreement on the party’s budget resolution, smoothing the path for the measure to advance out of committee and setting the stage for a broader push on former President Donald J. Trump’s legislative priorities.

The deal, brokered shortly before a key committee vote, allows Representative Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and the chairman of the Budget Committee, to adjust spending caps and tax provisions within the framework. If approved, the resolution would unlock the budget reconciliation process, which Republicans aim to use to push Trump’s policies forward without Democratic support.

“This is it. We declare victory,” Representative Andy Harris (R-MD) and chair of the House Freedom Caucus, said following the agreement. “We have a bill that delivers meaningful deficit reduction, funds the border, and advances the president’s tax policy. It all happens here.“

A Balancing Act on Spending and Taxes

The budget resolution, released by Arrington on Wednesday, outlines at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts across government programs, with a target of $2 trillion in deficit reduction. It also sets a $4.5 trillion cap on the deficit impact of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts while allocating $300 billion in additional funding for border security and defense.

Negotiations in recent weeks had focused on bridging differences between fiscal conservatives demanding deeper spending reductions and members of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, who sought a higher cap to accommodate Trump’s tax agenda. The agreement allows Arrington to adjust the spending floor and tax cap based on final deficit reduction figures, potentially increasing the tax cut allowance to $5 trillion if additional savings are found elsewhere.

“This budget put forward by the chairman is a giant step forward to reduce spending, the primary driver of the inflation, and the expansion of the government largesse that is strangling the future of our children and grandchildren” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), signaling his support for the measure after expressing skepticism earlier in the week, adding “I am proud of what the chairman has put forward.”

Hard-Liners Move Toward Support

The deal appears to have won over key conservative holdouts on the House Budget Committee. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), a member of the Freedom Caucus, had voiced opposition to the resolution on Wednesday, citing concerns over Medicaid work requirements and block grants. By Thursday, he expressed optimism about its chances of passing out of committee.

Republicans can afford to lose only two votes on the committee to advance the resolution, assuming all Democrats oppose it. The manager’s amendment could also secure support from Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) and chair of the Ways and Means Committee, who had pushed for a higher tax cap.

“Let me just say that a 10-year extension of President Trump’s expiring provisions is over $4.7 trillion, according to [the Congressional Budget Office],” Smith said earlier this week. “Anything less would be saying that President Trump is wrong on tax policy.”

Intel shares are on track for their strongest weekly gain on record, based on Bloomberg trading data dating back to 1982. Investor enthusiasm surged after Vice President JD Vance, speaking at an AI summit in Paris on Tuesday, noted the Trump administration would boost domestic chip production. Momentum continued on Wednesday after a report from Robert W. Baird analysts suggested that the Trump team is working to broker a joint venture between Intel and TSMC.

On Tuesday, at the AI summit in Paris, VP Vance told the audience: “The Trump administration will ensure that the most powerful AI systems are built in the U.S. with American-designed and manufactured chips.”

One day later, that was followed by a note via Robert W. Baird analysts claiming that the Trump team was pushing Intel and TSMC to form a joint chip production venture. 

“There are discussions from the Asia supply chain that the U.S. government will get involved in potentially the following: TSMC would send engineers to Intel’s 3nm/2nm fab, applying the company’s know-how to ensure that the fab and subsequent manufacturing projects from Intel become viable,” Baird’s Tristan Gerra told clients. 

Gerra said, “The fab could be spun off into a new entity jointly owned by TSMC and Intel, and run by TSMC. The new entity would receive U.S. Chip Act funding.”

“While there is no confirmation and potential completion of this project could be lengthy, we think this move makes sense,” she noted. 

On a separate note, Goldman’s Bruce Lu, Toshiya Hari, and others provided clients on Friday with a closer look at the JV rumors involving Intel and TSMC: 

Media has speculated that TSMC and Intel (covered by Toshiya Hari) may be forming a joint venture to enhance U.S. chip manufacturing capabilities or that Intel may be considering spinning off its semiconductor fabrication unit to create a collaborative venture with TSMC with TSMC providing technical expertise and engineers to support advanced chip production at Intel’s fabs.

At a glance: Fundamentally, the strategic merit for a potential JV seems unclear as TSMC and Intel operate under different business models and different tool sets which would likely require extra investment e.g. for purchasing/retiring equipment. For Intel and TSMC, even when looking at comparable technology nodes, some processes and equipment used are different. Also, Intel’s equipment is generally for older process nodes, which is not the primary area of focus for capacity expansion for TSMC (i.e. TSMC’s spending currently is mostly for its N2 expansion).

Additionally, TSMC’s business strategy has been to remain independent and avoid entering into JVs that could compromise its neutral status with other clients. More importantly, TSMC’s advanced nodes technology is its own property with proprietary processes, and is a key competitive advantage. Sharing this technology with a direct competitor like Intel could undermine its market position. Additionally, TSMC has historically been very cautious about sharing its intellectual property with other companies, especially with those in direct competition within the semiconductor space. Therefore, a technology transfer agreement between TSMC and Intel would seem uncharacteristic of TSMC’s strategy.

Another outstanding issue is potential anti-trust implications of any TSMC/Intel partnership/JV given the dominant market positions of the two companies. However, to note, Intel and UMC announced a foundry collaboration in January 2024, the two companies will jointly develop a 12nm process platform. UMC will be leveraging Intel’s existing equipment in Intel’s existing fabs, with mass production timeline expected to begin in 2027 (see also: Intel/UMC new foundry collaboration; we view it as a positive strategic move for both companies, 26 January 2024).

The JV rumors have been more than enough to spark buying panic in beaten-down Intel shares. 

There’s a tweet for that. 

Intel becoming a meme stonk?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 13, 2025

Intel may log one of the best weeks on record if gains hold through Friday’s close. 

Here’s Tom’s Hardware’s take on the rumors:

Ongoing geopolitical turmoil, coupled with Intel’s financial and execution struggles, have generated various rumors surrounding the blue giant. In this case, significant technological and business hurdles — ranging from differences in tooling process recipes at Intel and TSMC to TSMC’s lack of incentive to aid a competitor — cast doubt on the feasibility of such a partnership.

. . . 

Walmart has secured its position as America’s “price discount juggernaut” retailer as the Biden-Harris inflation storm sparked a scramble by big box retailers, supermarket retail chains, and discount chains into a value war to retain consumer market share. 

As previously noted, Walmart has emerged as the clear winner in the “trade-down phenomenon” that continues today as more affluent shoppers gravitate to the retail giant, and a new Goldman report shows this trend is only gaining pace. 

Goldman’s Kate McShane, Mark Jordan, and others used retail data from HundredX, including a household income breakdown and Net Purchase Intent trends, to show that Walmart has continued to gain market share of upper-income households, while other retailers, including Costco and Target, have marginally increased their share of lower-income households relative to the industry over the last year. 

“In our view, the share shift among income cohorts is likely due in part to upper-income consumers seeking out convenience, everyday value, and a comprehensive assortment through Walmart, which over-indexes to lower-income consumers relative to COST and TGT,” McShane told clients. 

The analysts add more color on the shifting consumer trends:

However, over the course of the last year, certain companies have increased their customer share of lower-income households relative to the industry average. In Jan ’24, TGT’s share was -5.4% lower than the industry, but it is now -3.0% lower in Jan ’25. Similarly, COST’s share in Jan ’24 was -7.7% lower than the industry, but it is now only -4.9% lower. In comparison, Walmart’s share of lower-income consumers relative to the industry has been decreasing: in Jan ’24, the company’s share was +9.0% higher than the industry but is now only +5.5% higher. More of Walmart’s customer base has been shifting towards upper-income households, where share was -9.0% lower than the industry in Jan ’24, but it is now only -5.5% lower. In general, trends point towards companies such as COST and TGT increasing their lower-income audience share, while Walmart is shifting towards increasing its upper-income audience share.

The analysts noted that price discounts and free delivery of goods likely led to a growing share of upper-income shoppers trading down to Walmart:

In 3Q, WMT saw higher engagement across income cohorts, with upper-income households continuing to account for the majority of share gains. In our view, this is likely due in part to WMT’s expanded convenience offerings (e.g., free delivery through Walmart+ on $35+ orders, curbside pick up), store remodels, more comprehensive assortment through Marketplace, and a continued focus on every day value, with our pricing studies showing that Walmart US grocery prices remain ~11% below peers, on average.

Here’s the income breakdown of shoppers at each of the retail giants:

The takeaway is that the multi-year inflation storm has transformed the nation’s consumers into Walmart shoppers—yet another sign that living standards continue to erode due to horrible decision-making by elected and unelected elites in the DC swamp. This has even impacted wealthy consumers who must trade down to Walmart. The financial misery DC folks have inflicted on all consumers has unified the nation, and many are thrilled with DOGE disrupting the swamp. It’s called payback.

By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

Elliott Management is pushing for major asset sales at BP to address the undervalued shares of the UK-based supermajor after the U.S. activist investor built a stake of nearly 5% worth about $4.75 billion (3.8 billion British pounds), the Financial Times reported on Thursday, quoting sources familiar with the matter.

News of Elliott’s recently-built stake in BP, which now makes it the third-largest shareholder, broke this weekend, pushing BP’s shares soaring on Monday.

On Tuesday, BP’s stock fell as the company reported earnings below expectations. The fourth-quarter profit missed the analyst consensus estimate and was the lowest quarterly profit since the fourth quarter of 2020 when the pandemic was hitting global oil demand. BP attributed the lower earnings to weaker realized refining margins, as well as higher impact from turnaround activity, seasonally lower customer volumes, and fuel margins.

In the Q4 earnings release, BP also teased a fundamental reset of strategy as it seeks to push up its stock performance and regain investor trust.

“Building on the actions taken in the past 12 months, we now plan to fundamentally reset our strategy and drive further improvements in performance, all in service of growing cash flow and returns,” BP’s chief executive Murray Auchincloss said in a statement.

BP’s leadership will communicate its new strategy, which “will be a new direction for bp”, at a Capital Markets Update on February 26, Auchincloss added.

Analysts and investors expect even more cuts to the low-carbon business and a pledge to boost oil and gas production at the capital markets day later this month.

The pressure became more intense after reports emerged that Elliott Management had bought a stake in BP and would be pushing for changes in strategy, or even for board reshuffles.

This week, Elliott took aim at another large oil company—it demands changes at U.S. refiner Phillips 66 after amassing a $2.5 billion stake.

Tesla is testing a couple of new security measures in a pilot program to prevent cable theft by metal scrappers at its Supercharger stations across the country.

BREAKING: Tesla has started installing new anti-theft devices on Supercharger cables.

Called DyeDefender, these are stainless steel hose barriers filled with pressurized, blue-staining dye that explodes when someone attempts to cut the cable.

Will these be installed everywhere… pic.twitter.com/NOEbEhqT8H

— Drive Tesla 🇨🇦 (@DriveTeslaca) February 12, 2025

EV blog Electrek reports Tesla is testing a new wrap around the cable that sprays blue dye everywhere if punctured. 

First, it is currently testing a new wrap around the cable. It has been spotted at a Tesla Supercharger in Seattle, Washington (Reddit):

First, it is currently testing a new wrap around the cable. It has been spotted at a Tesla Supercharger in Seattle, Washington (Reddit):

The second security measure is to engrave the copper wiring with “Property of Tesla” so scrap metal yards can notify local police about cable theft.  

Supercharger cables will also have “Property of Tesla” engraved from our Buffalo NY factory, so recycling companies shouldn’t accept them and notify us. It’s a scalable, cost-effective solution that doesn’t impact service operations & customer experience.

As long as the scrapyards and recycling facilities are willing to enforce this, it could help deter thieves from stealing the cables if they are not able to sell them.

Last summer, a series of Tesla Superchargers and Electrify America stations were hit by thieves. 

Thieves In Seattle Targeting EV Charging Stations Has Reached “Epidemic Proportions” https://t.co/rBHoty852L

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 3, 2024

Thieves have also targeted catalytic converters on vehicles, copper wire and pipe, light poles, and anything containing base metals.

Authored by Liz Heflin via Remix News,

Retired Russian Armed Forces Intelligence Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk has come out swinging in the lead-up to the Munich Security Conference, saying the U.S. has compromising information on Zelensky that will force him to compromise, namely, that he has possibly embezzled large amounts of money from the funds sent to Ukraine for its defense against Russia. 

In an interview with MK, the retired colonel said that President Trump “has long had a grudge against Zelensky,” since the head of the Kyiv regime supported his persecution and passed on compromising information about him to the previous U.S. administration under Biden.

“Today, Trump is skillfully dealing with everyone who once spoke out against him,” Matviychuk noted.

“Among them are Zelensky and Yermak. I am sure that Trump has more than enough dirt on them.”

These may have to do with the embezzlement of money. 

“It is not surprising that it has now become clear that about 100 billion dollars have sunk into oblivion,” the intelligence officer noted.

“I believe that in fact the U.S. knows very well where these billions ended up…”

Matviychuk claims the money ended up in Zelensky’s Spanish, Italian and British real estate. However, he also went after Zelensky’s wife. 

“In addition, the million-dollar expenses of the First Lady of Ukraine, Elena Zelenskaya, in European boutiques have been well calculated,” the expert added.

Matviychuk added that Zelensky has also opened himself up to accusations of prolonging the conflict and numerous war crimes.

This is not the first time someone has claimed Zelensky has enriched himself from U.S. taxpayer money sent for his country’s defense against Russia. 

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found that Zelenskyy and his partners owned a network of offshore companies dating back to 2012 in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus and Belize.

The documents also revealed that before Zelenskyy became president in 2019, he gave his stake in an offshore company to a business partner but made an arrangement that the offshore company would continue paying dividends to a company Zelenskyy’s wife owned, the reporting project said.

In response, USA Today offered up its own “fact check,” stating:

“The Pandora Papers – secret records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists – highlight information about Zelenskyy’s overseas dealings. However, the papers don’t reveal the exact amount Zelenskyy or his wife have in overseas accounts. Sullivan said none of the assets claimed in the social media post were in the papers.”

USA Today also cites a 2022 Forbes piece that estimated Zelensky’s real estate portfolio at some $4 million after reports that he purchased his parents an $8 million mansion — although USA Today said the claims about an $8 million mansion were false. Nor did the magazine find any proof to back up claims that Zelensky owned three private jets or five luxury yachts. The original Instagram post targeted by USA Today reportedly stating that Zelenky owned “a 35 million dollar home in Florida and has $1.2 billion in an overseas bank account” is no longer available. 

Despite no hard evidence of embezzlement, allegations have continued non-stop, with many saying that now that Donald Trump is in office, a real audit will uncover the truth. 

Tucker Carlson headlined a recent episode of his podcast by claiming “Ukrainian military is selling American weapons systems on the black market, including to drug cartels on the (American) border.” 

His guest U.S. Col. Daniel Davis said that Zelensky had even recently made a point of denying such allegations, and “the media just reports what he says.” The colonel then added that this has been “an open secret for almost the duration of (the war).”

Read more here…

By Alex Kimani of OilPrice.com

Freight rates to ship Russian urals from Baltic ports to India jumped 20% in February to $7 million to $8 million per voyage after the Biden administration imposed harsher sanctions on Russian crude. 

Russia’s provisional February loading plan for western ports was revised up by 19% to 1.9 million barrels per day, Reuters calculations showed early this month. Russian refineries are processing more crude oil in the hope of boosting fuel exports after the Biden administration imposed fresh sanctions on Russian crude. The sanctions have targeted Surgutneftgas and Gazprom Neft, two Russian oil firms that handle 25% of Russian oil exports. The two companies shipped an average of 970,000 bbls a day in 2024. 

“We have to utilize oil processing as much as we can in order to use (the sanctioned) oil,” a Russian industry source said.

Middlemen who supply Russian oil have stopped offering cargoes after the latest U.S. sanctions, Bharat Petroleum CFO has revealed. Bharat Petroleum and other Indian state refiners buy Russian oil in the spot market, mainly from traders.

“We have not received any new offers for the March window (delivery). Traders are asking us to wait. We are waiting to get offers,” Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta told Reuters. 

“We are not expecting the similar number of cargoes that we used to get in the months of December and January,” he added.

The Indian government is considering extra energy imports from the United States, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the country and a scheduled meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. Modi is set to hold bilateral talks with Trump.

Meanwhile, India’s oil demand growth is estimated to have exceeded China’s for the first time in 2024, and is expected to do so again in 2025. According to Kang Wu, global head of macro and oil demand research at SPGCI, India’s oil demand in the current year grew by 180,000 barrels per day, surpassing China’s growth at 148,000 bpd. India’s oil demand is expected to increase by 3.2% Y/Y in 2025 compared to a 1.7% clip by China.