1 PRIME MINISTER OYUN-ERDENE VISITS EGIIN GOL HYDROPOWER PLANT PROJECT SITE WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      2 ‘I FELT CAUGHT BETWEEN CULTURES’: MONGOLIAN MUSICIAN ENJI ON HER BEGUILING, BORDER-CROSSING MUSIC WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      3 POWER OF SIBERIA 2: ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OR GEOPOLITICAL RISK FOR MONGOLIA? WWW.THEDIPLOMAT.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      4 UNITED AIRLINES TO LAUNCH FLIGHTS TO MONGOLIA IN MAY WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      5 SIGNATURE OF OIL SALES AGREEMENT FOR BLOCK XX PRODUCTION WWW.RESEARCH-TREE.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      6 MONGOLIA ISSUES E-VISAS TO 11,575 FOREIGNERS IN Q1 WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      7 KOREA AN IDEAL PARTNER TO HELP MONGOLIA GROW, SEOUL'S ENVOY SAYS WWW.KOREAJOONGANGDAILY.JOINS.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      8 MONGOLIA TO HOST THE 30TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF ASIA SECURITIES FORUM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      9 BAGAKHANGAI-KHUSHIG VALLEY RAILWAY PROJECT LAUNCHES WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      10 THE MONGOLIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND FDI: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITY WWW.MELVILLEDALAI.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/28      849 ТЭРБУМЫН ӨРТӨГТЭЙ "ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД" БООМТЫН ТЭЗҮ-Д ТУРШЛАГАГҮЙ, МОНГОЛ 2 КОМПАНИ ҮНИЙН САНАЛ ИРҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ХУУЛЬ БУСААР АШИГЛАЖ БАЙСАН "БОГД УУЛ" СУВИЛЛЫГ НИЙСЛЭЛ ӨМЧЛӨЛДӨӨ БУЦААВ WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МЕТРО БАРИХ ТӨСЛИЙГ ГҮЙЦЭТГЭХЭЭР САНАЛАА ӨГСӨН МОНГОЛЫН ГУРВАН КОМПАНИ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     "UPC RENEWABLES" КОМПАНИТАЙ ХАМТРАН 2400 МВТ-ЫН ХҮЧИН ЧАДАЛТАЙ САЛХИН ЦАХИЛГААН СТАНЦ БАРИХААР БОЛОВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ОРОСЫН МОНГОЛ УЛС ДАХЬ ТОМООХОН ТӨСЛҮҮД ДЭЭР “ГАР БАРИХ” СОНИРХОЛ БА АМБИЦ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МОНГОЛ, АНУ-ЫН ХООРОНД ТАВДУГААР САРЫН 1-НЭЭС НИСЛЭГ ҮЙЛДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙД Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ ЭГИЙН ГОЛЫН УЦС-ЫН ТӨСЛИЙН ТАЛБАЙД АЖИЛЛАЖ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     Ц.ТОД-ЭРДЭНЭ: БИЧИГТ БООМТЫН ЕРӨНХИЙ ТӨЛӨВЛӨГӨӨ БАТЛАГДВАЛ БУСАД БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫН АЖЛУУД ЭХЛЭХ БОЛОМЖ БҮРДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     MCS-ИЙН ХОЁР ДАХЬ “УХАА ХУДАГ”: БНХАУ, АВСТРАЛИТАЙ ХАМТРАН ЭЗЭМШДЭГ БАРУУН НАРАНГИЙН ХАЙГУУЛЫГ УЛСЫН ТӨСВӨӨР ХИЙЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     АМ.ДОЛЛАРЫН ХАНШ ТОГТВОРЖИЖ 3595 ТӨГРӨГ БАЙНА WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29    

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Events

Events

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MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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US urges IT network firms to secure controls after cyberattack www.aljazeera.com

The White House has urged computer network operators to take further steps to gauge whether their systems were affected amid a hack of Microsoft Corp’s Outlook email program, saying a recent software patch still left serious vulnerabilities.
“This is an active threat still developing and we urge network operators to take it very seriously,” a White House official said on Sunday, adding that top US security officials were working to decide what next steps to take following the breach.
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US TV network CNN on Sunday separately reported that the Biden administration was forming a task force to address the hack. The White House official, in a statement, said the administration was making “a whole of government response”.
While Microsoft released a patch last week to shore up flaws in its email software, the remedy still leaves open a so-called back door that can allow access to compromised servers and perpetuating further attacks by others.
“We can’t stress enough that patching and mitigation is not remediation if the servers have already been compromised and it is essential that any organisation with a vulnerable server take measures to determine if they were already targeted,” the White House official said.
An unidentified source told the Reuters news agency that more than 20,000 US organisations had been compromised by the hack, which Microsoft has blamed on China.
Asked about Microsoft’s attribution of the attack to China, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday that the country “firmly opposes and combats cyberattacks and cyber-theft in all forms” and suggested that blaming a particular nation was a “highly sensitive political issue”.
The Bloomberg news agency, citing a former senior US official with knowledge of the investigation, reported that the attack has so far claimed 60,000 known victims globally.
Back channels
The back channels for remote access can affect credit unions, town governments and small business and have left US officials scrambling to reach victims, with the FBI on Sunday urging them to contact the law enforcement agency.
The European Banking Authority became one of the latest victims as it said that access to personal data through emails held on the Microsoft server may have been compromised.
Others identified so far include banks and electricity providers, as well as senior citizen homes and an ice cream company, according to Huntress, a US-based firm that monitors the security of customers, in a blog post on Friday.
Those affected appear to host Web versions of Microsoft’s email program Outlook on their own machines instead of cloud providers, possibly sparing many big companies and federal government agencies, records from the investigation suggest.
Microsoft has urged affected clients to apply software updates as soon as possible [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]A Microsoft representative on Sunday said it was working with the government and others to help guide customers, and the company urged affected clients to apply software updates as soon as possible.
Neither the company nor the White House has specified the scale of the hack. Microsoft initially said it was limited, but the White House last week expressed concern about the potential for “a large number of victims”.
So far, only a small percentage of infected networks have been compromised through the back door, the source previously told Reuters, but more attacks are expected.
The hacking group, which Microsoft calls Hafnium, appears to have been breaking into private and government computer networks through the company’s popular Exchange email software for a number of months, initially attacking only a small number of victims, according to Steven Adair, the head of US-based Volexity. The cybersecurity company helped Microsoft identify the flaws being used by the hackers for which the software giant issued a fix on Tuesday.
The result is a second cybersecurity crisis coming just months after suspected Russian hackers breached nine federal agencies and at least 100 companies through tampered updates from IT management software maker SolarWinds LLC.
Fragile networks
Both the most recent incident and the SolarWinds attack show the fragility of modern networks and sophistication of state-sponsored hackers to identify hard-to-find vulnerabilities or even create them to conduct espionage. They also involve complex cyberattacks, with an initial blast radius of large numbers of computers which is then narrowed as the attackers focus their efforts, which can take affected organisations weeks or months to resolve.
In the case of the Microsoft bugs, simply applying the company-provided updates will not remove the attackers from a network. A review of affected systems is required, said Charles Carmakal, a senior vice president at FireEye Inc, a US-based cybersecurity company. And the White House emphasised the same thing, including tweets from the National Security Council urging the growing list of victims to carefully comb through their computers for signs of the attackers.
Initially, the hackers appeared to be focusing on high-value intelligence targets in the US, Adair said. About a week ago, everything changed. Other unidentified hacking groups began hitting thousands of victims over a short period, inserting hidden software that could give them access later, he said.
Adair said that other hacking groups may have found the same flaws and began their own attacks – or that China may have wanted to capture as many victims as possible, then sort out which had intelligence value.
Either way, the attacks were so successful – and so rapid – that the hackers appear to have found a way to automate the process. “If you are running an Exchange server, you most likely are a victim,” he said.
Data from other security companies suggest that the scope of the attacks may not end up being quite that bad. Researchers from Huntress examined about 3,000 vulnerable servers on its partners’ networks and found about 350 infections – or just over 10 percent.
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China says manufacturing 'greatness' still 30 years away www.bbc.com

China is at least 30 years away from becoming a manufacturing nation of "great power", a government advisor told party delegates on Sunday.
Many observers already see China as the "world's factory" given that more than a third of global output from cars to phones comes from there.
But China's leaders are concerned about its heavy dependence on the US for high-tech products like semiconductors.
"Basic capabilities are still weak" Miao Wei warned on Sunday.
"Core technologies are in the hands of others" and China runs the risk of "being hit in the throat" warned Mr Miao, who was Minister of Industry and Information Technology for a decade.
He is now a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top advisory body to the government.
Although China still produces a significant amount of consumer and industrial products, its manufacturing output as a share of its economy has declined.
Last year, manufacturing accounted for slightly over a quarter of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the lowest level since 2012.
"The ratio of manufacturing output to GDP has been declining too early and too quickly" Mr Miao said in a speech to CPPCC delegates at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
"China's manufacturing industry has made great achievements in recent years, but the situation of being big but not strong and comprehensive but not good has not been fundamentally changed," Mr Miao added.
Tech battle
China also laid out its draft economic plan for the next five years. It wants to speed up the development of advanced technologies from chips to artificial intelligence.
The initiatives follow repeated blocks on China's access to US technology under the Trump administration. Chinese companies such as Huawei have been cut off from buying critical components.
Establishing its own world-class domestic chip makers has become a top priority for Chinese leaders.
Its five-year plan targets seven strategic areas considered essential to national security and includes AI, quantum computing, neuroscience and aerospace.
The blueprint reiterates China's desire to increase competitiveness in aircraft development, robotics and new-energy vehicles.
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Meghan and Harry interview: Racism claims, duke 'let down' by dad, and duchess on Kate www.bbc.com

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's much-anticipated interview with Oprah Winfrey has aired in the US - with the couple sharing their side of the story about life in the Royal Family.
The couple spoke about their relationships with other royals, racism and how their mental health suffered.
Meghan spoke with Oprah for most of the interview, before being joined by Prince Harry.
The interview will be aired on ITV on Monday at 21:00 GMT and on ITV Hub.
Live updates: Oprah with Meghan and Harry airs in US
1. 'Discussions about how dark Meghan's baby might be'
One of the biggest allegations from the interview was that there were "several conversations" within the Royal Family about how dark Meghan and Harry's baby might be.
"In those months when I was pregnant [there were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born," said Meghan.
She said the conversations were with Harry, who relayed them to her. Both she and Harry refused to say which royal said it.
"That conversation, I am never going to share," said Harry. "At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked."
Harry also said that it hurt him that his family never spoke out about the "colonial undertones" of news headlines and articles.
2. Kate 'made Meghan cry' - not the other way around
One story that circulated in the newspapers a few years ago was that the Duchess of Cambridge was left in tears by Meghan in the run-up to the wedding in a row over flower girl dresses.
But Meghan told Oprah the reverse was true.
"A few days before the wedding [Kate] was upset about the flower girl dresses and it made me cry," Meghan said. She said Kate later apologised and brought flowers and a note to make amends.
"I'm not sharing that piece about Kate to be disparaging about her," Meghan said. She said Kate was "a good person" and hoped that she would have wanted the false stories corrected.
3. Meghan said she was on the verge of suicide but was refused help
Meghan spoke about how lonely she felt after joining the Royal Family and the loss of her freedom. "When I joined that family, that was the last time until we came here that I saw my passport, my driver's licence, my keys, all that gets turned over," she said.
She said her mental health got so bad that she "didn't want to be alive any more".
"I went to the institution and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, said I had never felt that way before and need to go somewhere, and I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution."
She said she went to "one of the most senior people" within the institution and then to the palace human resources department. "Nothing was ever done," she added.
4. Meghan spoke to one of Diana's friends
Princess Diana's name came up many times throughout the interview - with similarities drawn between their experiences of being in the Royal Family.
"I didn't even know who to turn to," said Meghan, of the time when she was struggling. "One of the people I reached out to who's continued to be a friend and confidante was one of my husband's mom's best friends.
"Because it's like who else could understand what it's actually like on the inside?"
5. Harry feels 'let down' by Charles
Oprah asked Harry about his relationships with his family and especially with his father, the Prince of Wales, and brother, the Duke of Cambridge.
At one point after stepping back as senior royals, Harry said Charles "stopped taking my calls".
"I feel really let down because he's been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like and Archie's his grandson.
"But at the same time, of course I will always love him but there's a lot of hurt that's happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship."
On William, Harry said he loved him to bits and they have been through hell together. "But we were on different paths."
6. But the couple's relationship with the Queen is good
Harry said he has a "really good" relationship with his grandmother and he has spoken to her more in the last year - including video calls with Archie - than he has for many years.
"She's my colonel-in-chief, right? She always will be."
Meghan also praised the Queen and said she gave her some beautiful jewellery for the couple's first joint engagement together as well as sharing a blanket with her to keep warm while travelling together.
7. Harry 'cut off financially'
In the first quarter of 2020, Harry said his family "literally cut me off financially".
He said the Netflix and Spotify deals that he and Meghan have struck to make shows and podcasts were never part of the plan but "I had to afford security for us".
"But I've got what my mum left me and without that we wouldn't have been able to do this."
The couple reveal that, after they were cut off, American billionaire and media mogul Tyler Perry provided Harry and Meghan with a home and security last year when they moved from Canada to southern California.
8. The truth behind a photograph
Meghan said that the evening after she told Harry that she was feeling suicidal, they had to attend an official event at the Royal Albert Hall.
Meghan spoke about a photo that has haunted her because of what it reminded her of.
She said a friend had commented how great the couple looked but she added: "That picture, if you zoom in, what I see is how tightly his knuckles are gripped around mine," she told Oprah, as she became emotional.
"We are smiling and doing our job but we're both just trying to hold on. "Every time those lights went down in that royal box, I was just weeping."
9. Meghan 'didn't do any research' on the Royal Family
Talking about the first time she met the Queen, Meghan said she was surprised to learn she had to curtsy.
She said she thought it was just "part of the fanfare" and didn't happen inside the Royal Family
She described having to quickly practise curtsying before an impromptu lunch with the Queen. "I said: 'It's your grandmother," said Meghan. "He said: 'It's the Queen.'"
Meghan added that she hadn't done any research on the family before joining - and insisted she had never looked up her husband online while they were dating.
10. They actually married three days before the wedding
Millions of people watched Harry and Meghan tie the knot at Windsor Castle in 2018. But the couple revealed they actually got married by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a simple ceremony three days before.
"We called the archbishop and we just said, 'look, this thing, this spectacle is for the world but we want our union between us... just the two of us in our backyard'."
11. Archie's favourite phrase is 'drive safe'
Harry spoke about Archie, and the joy he gets from taking him out on bike rides. The interview included a clip of the toddler playing on the beach with his parents.
The couple joked that his favourite word for the past few weeks has been "hydrate", and Harry said whenever anyone leaves the house, Archie tells them "drive safe".
12. And... it's a girl
The couple confirm they're expecting a baby girl in the summer.
Harry said it was "amazing", adding: "What more can you ask for?" - but said they would be done after baby number two arrives.
Towards the end of the interview, Oprah asked if Meghan had got her happy ending with Prince Harry after all. "Greater than any fairytale that you've ever read," she said.
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Mayer Brown advises Mongolian Mortgage Corporation on US$250 million bond offering www.mayerbrown.com

Mayer Brown represented Mongolian Mortgage Corporation HFC LLC and MIK Holding JSC in connection with the issuance of US$250 million 8.85% senior notes due 2024.
The issuer plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to purchase its outstanding 9.75% senior notes due 2022, and the remainder to purchase mortgages with recourse in the ordinary course of business.
This transaction forms part of Mongolia’s effort to revitalize its economy and encourage domestic sustainable development during the COVID-19 pandemic. This issuance introduces much-needed liquidity into the growing mortgage market in Mongolia. The new issuance should translate into lower lending rates for Mongolian mortgage holders, while taking pressure off the balance sheets of Mongolia’s commercial banks through the purchase of underlying mortgages. We are very proud to be part of this transaction and to contribute to the further development of Mongolia’s domestic mortgage market.
Mayer Brown has advised on numerous bond offerings involving Mongolia-based issuers, and has won a number of awards in connection with these deals. The firm's latest representation again demonstrates our leadership in Asia-Pacific debt capital markets transactions and our deep understanding of frontier markets.
The Mayer Brown team across three continents was led by Corporate & Securities partners Jason T. Elder and Thomas Kollar (both Hong Kong). The team included Tax Transactions & Consulting partner Jared Goldberger and associate Brennan Young (both New York), Banking & Finance partner James Taylor (London), and Corporate & Securities associate Sean Su and corporate finance officer Jinni Yeo (both Hong Kong).
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Mongolia to permit scheduled international services to resume from May-2021 www.centreforaviation.com

Mongolia's Government announced plans to permit scheduled international services to and from Mongolia to resume from 01-May-2021, following a temporary prohibition since mid Feb-2020 due to the outbreak of coronavirus (Xinhua/China Daily, 04-Mar-2021). The government is undertaking works to equip Ulaanbaatar Chinggis Khaan International Airport for COVID-19 safe handling of international services, including works to install glass barriers at check in counters and establish temporary isolation rooms.

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Mongolia requests for more vaccines from India www.wionews.com

Days after India gifted vaccines to Mongolia, the country is keen to get more vaccines from New Delhi, this time commercially.
The deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia has written to India's external affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar requesting for 10 to 15 lakh India-made vaccines Covishield.
India had gifted 1.5 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine to Mongolia on February 21 that helped the country begin its vaccination drive.
Interestingly, the Prime Minister of Mongolia Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene was vaccinated using India-made vaccines. What makes Covishield is the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine produced by Pune-based Serum Institute of India much sought after is that it has got approval from the World Health Organization (WHO).
India and Mongolia share close ties and have seen a number of visits including the famous visit of Indian PM Modi in 2015. Mongolia, landlocked between China and Russia considers India as its spiritual and third neighbour.
New Delhi's outreach on COVID-19 vaccines has been much appreciated globally with India sending 568.06 lakh doses of vaccines to 56 countries and UN Health workers.
Not only Mongolia but countries in South Asia - Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Bangladesh and countries in Africa and Caricom region began their COVID-19 vaccination using India-made coronavirus vaccines.
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Apple is discontinuing the iMac Pro www.cnn.com

New York (CNN Business)Apple is no longer making the iMac Pro, once the most-powerful computer the company offered.
For those looking to get their hands on the all-in-one-Mac, they can still do so for a limited time. The $4,999 standard model can still be purchased on Apple's website, but only while supplies last. Once existing inventory runs out, the iMac Pro will no longer be available, Apple told CNN Business.
Apple (AAPL) released the iMac Pro in 2017, in which it was deemed "the most powerful Mac ever." The all-in-one computer aimed at creatives and professionals features advanced capabilities for graphics and 3D rendering. However, the machine hasn't gotten any major updates in the past few years.
In August, Apple debuted its 27-inch iMac, which is the go-to iMac option for most customers. The tech company added that the current model can be configured to address the needs of professionals. But for those desiring a boost in performance and expandability, they can choose the Mac Pro -- a Mac tower that exceeds the capabilities of the iMac Pro.
Apple is gearing up a for new release of iMacs this year to replace its 21.5-inch and 27-inch models, Bloomberg reported in January.
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108 new COVID-19 cases detected, total reaches 3,336 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. At the regular press briefing of the Ministry of Health today on March 8, it was reported that 108 new cases were detected in Mongolia after testing 13,269 people nationwide within the past 24 hours. This is the highest number of cases detected in a single day since the first domestic coronavirus transmission in the country.
While three of the new cases were detected from citizens that were brought back on charter flights, the rest were locally-acquired infections.
In the past 24 hours, 49 people have been discharged from the hospital, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,588.
As of today, the total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Mongolia now stands at 3,336, with 732 patients receiving treatment
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Every investor wants an answer to this question www.cnn.com

London (CNN Business)A wave of anxiety is sweeping through stock and bond markets as investors prepare to enter a new phase of the pandemic.
What's happening: Concerns are growing that a strong economic recovery later this year will cause a spike in inflation. That's sparked a selloff in government bonds. When prices fall, yields rise, which weighs on stocks.
Without a sharp bump on Friday, the S&P 500 — which has dropped in the last three trading sessions — will notch its third consecutive week of declines, as the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury moves back toward 1.6%.
"With the Covid-19 vaccine allowing for economic activity to be restored, coupled with fresh injections of fiscal stimulus in the pipeline, investors are holding on to the narrative that inflation could make a roaring comeback," FXTM market analyst Han Tan told clients on Friday.
In recent days, Wall Street has become laser-focused on one big question: If significantly higher prices do materialize, will Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers have the stomach for it?
Powell said at an event on Thursday that he does expect inflation to rise as the economy reopens. But he emphasized that the Fed does not intend to change course as a result, since low interest rates and bond purchases will continue to be necessary to support the ongoing recovery.
"Compared to the economic scenarios we contemplated a year ago, it's good to see where we are," Powell said. The Fed, he added, will try to differentiate between a "one-time surge in prices and ongoing inflation."
Easy monetary policies like rock-bottom interest rates have been a boon for riskier investments like stocks over the past year. Wall Street is worried the mood could change when rates start to rise again.
Such fears are top of mind with Friday's jobs report on tap. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expect to learn that the US economy added 182,000 jobs in February, up from 49,000 in January.
That's certainly an improvement, but would still leave Americans down millions of jobs since the start of the pandemic. Such a reading may reassure Wall Street that any talk of the Fed tightening policy is premature.
Investors will be particularly alert for unexpected signs of wage inflation, however. Average hourly earnings are forecast to have risen by 0.2%.
Watch this space: US prices don't exist in a vacuum. One of the reasons inflation has been so low in recent decades has been thanks to China, which has served as a global factory for low-cost goods.
The country said Friday that it would target economic growth of more than 6% in 2021. A strong recovery in China could help keep prices low. But there are some concerns that economic scarring from the pandemic has permanently hurt supply chains and reduced manufacturing capacity. That dynamic could contribute to inflation.
Oil prices surge after producers extend production cuts
Countries are beginning to look toward life after the pandemic. But oil producers, nervous about upsetting delicate price dynamics, aren't racing to put more barrels on the market.
Oil prices surge as OPEC and its allies extend production cuts
Oil prices surge as OPEC and its allies extend production cuts
The latest: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies said Thursday that they would largely roll over production cuts during the month of April, my CNN Business colleague Charles Riley reports.
Two countries — Russia and Kazakhstan — were granted exemptions to increase their output by a small amount.
Remember: The OPEC+ group agreed in January to keep production steady for February and March. At that time, Saudi Arabia surprised markets by pledging to cut its production by an extra 1 million barrels per day, a move that reflected unease about fragile demand.
Saudi Arabia agreed on Thursday to extend its extra cut through April. Including that contribution, the broader group's supply cuts amount to nearly 8 million barrels per day.
In recent months, rising prices have made producers more confident that the market is on solid footing following its pandemic crash. But for now, the group is opting to play it safe.
Investor insight: Oil prices are jumping as a result. US oil was last trading above $65 per barrel for the first time since January 2020. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, are near $68.50.
UBS oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo thinks US oil prices will rise to $72 per barrel later this year if the expected surge in demand for energy materializes as economies reopen.
"With a cautious approach from OPEC+ and limited production growth outside the group, oil inventories are likely to fall at a fast pace in April," Staunovo told clients.
That would continue to support prices. Customers could also start to pay more for gas at the pump. AAA said Thursday that the US average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by two cents this week to $2.74.
A global shortage of shipping containers triggered by the pandemic is squeezing companies around the world.
Costco (COST) is the latest to sound the alarm. Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti told analysts after markets closed on Thursday that container shortfalls contributed to delays in delivering furniture, sporting goods, lawn and garden equipment and even some food items, including seafood, imported cheeses and oils.
"We expect these pressures to ease in the coming months, but it's impacting everyone, of course," Galanti said.
What's happening: According to Hillebrand, a logistics company, containers were stranded in North America and Europe at the beginning of the pandemic and couldn't make their way back to Asia. There was no time to clear the backlog before more started coming in.
The firm says that production of new containers remains "woefully low," and prices for those on the market has skyrocketed. Hillebrand doesn't expect the situation to normalize until later this year.
Costs are being passed on to customers like Costco, which said Thursday that sales increased nearly 15% from one year ago in its most recent quarter as customers continue to stock up on food and cleaning supplies. Shares are down nearly 2% in premarket trading.
Up next
The US jobs report for February posts at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Coming up: It's been nearly a year since markets crashed as Covid-19 fears overtook Wall Street. Check back Sunday for a look at what's happened since then — and where we could be heading next.
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Global Hack Breaches Thousands of Microsoft Business Accounts www.bloomberg.com

A sophisticated attack on Microsoft Corp.’s widely used business email software is morphing into a global cybersecurity crisis, as hackers race to infect as many victims as possible before companies can secure their computer systems.
The attack, which Microsoft has said started with a Chinese government-backed hacking group, has so far claimed at least 60,000 known victims globally, according to a former senior U.S. official with knowledge of the investigation. Many of them appear to be small or medium-sized businesses caught in a wide net the attackers cast as Microsoft worked to shut down the hack.
Victims identified so far include banks and electricity providers, as well as senior citizen homes and an ice cream company, according to Huntress, a Ellicott City, Maryland-based firm that monitors the security of customers, in a blog post Friday.
One U.S. cybersecurity company which asked not to be named said its experts alone were working with at least 50 victims, trying to quickly determine what data the hackers may have taken while also trying to eject them.
The rapidly escalating attack drew the concern of U.S. national security officials, in part because the hackers were able to hit so many victims so quickly. Researchers say in the final phases of the attack, the hackers appeared to have automated the process, scooping up tens of thousands of new victims around the world in a matter of days.
“We are undertaking a whole of government response to assess and address the impact,” a White House official wrote in an email on Saturday. “This is an active threat still developing and we urge network operators to take it very seriously.”
Microsoft Server Flaws Raise Alarms at White House, DHS
The Chinese hacking group, which Microsoft calls Hafnium, appears to have been breaking into private and government computer networks through the company’s popular Exchange email software for a number of months, initially targeting only a small number of victims, according to Steven Adair, head of the northern Virginia-based Volexity. The cybersecurity company helped Microsoft identify the flaws being used by the hackers for which the software giant issued a fix on Tuesday.
The result is a second cybersecurity crisis coming just months after suspected Russian hackers breached nine federal agencies and at least 100 companies through tampered updates from IT management software maker SolarWinds LLC. Cybersecurity experts that defend the world’s computer systems expressed a growing sense of frustration and exhaustion.
‘Getting Tired’
“The good guys are getting tired,” said Charles Carmakal, a senior vice president at FireEye Inc., the Milpitas, California-based cybersecurity company.
Asked about Microsoft’s attribution of the attack to China, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Wednesday that the country “firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms” and suggested that blaming a particular nation was a “highly senstive political issue.”
Both the most recent incident and the SolarWinds attack show the fragility of modern networks and sophistication of state-sponsored hackers to identify hard-to-find vulnerabilities or even create them to conduct espionage. They also involve complex cyberattacks, with an initial blast radius of large numbers of computers which is then narrowed as the attackers focus their efforts, which can take affected organizations weeks or months to resolve.
In the case of the Microsoft bugs, simply applying the company-provided updates won’t remove the attackers from a network. A review of affected systems is required, Carmakal said. And the White House emphasized the same thing, including tweets from the National Security Council urging the growing list of victims to carefully comb through their computers for signs of the attackers.
Initially, the Chinese hackers appeared to be targeting high value intelligence targets in the U.S., Adair said. About a week ago, everything changed. Other unidentified hacking groups began hitting thousands of victims over a short period, inserting hidden software that could give them access later, he said.
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