1. The Council of the EU has adopted our KPO, we are getting closer to the money of the Reconstruction Fund
The Council of the European Union, made up in this case of EU finance ministers, approved the Polish national reconstruction plan, which is a fundamental step on the way for Poland to obtain funds from the the EU. The decision of the European Commission almost three weeks ago was important, but only a recommendation. The appropriate political decision was taken by majority vote of the Council. Even if the case was not obvious, it finally turned out that nobody was against, and only the Netherlands abstained.
Poland can get a total of €35.4 billion from the Reconstruction Fund, including €23.9 billion in grants and €11.5 billion in loans. More than 40 percent of this money is earmarked for renewable energy and environmental protection purposes, and another more than 20 percent. for digitization, that is to say mainly to bring fiber optic networks to the Polish countryside, better accessibility of public services on the Internet and better equipment of schools with computer equipment.
The Ministry of Funds intends to submit the first request for payment of the Fund in the third quarter. We will get the money if we meet all the so-called milestones.
A total of 37 measures must be demonstrated in the first request for payment. We have already carried out 20 of them, and the others are at an advanced stage of implementation (…) We have to agree with the European Commission on the so-called operational activities, i.e. details on how we will implement the reforms and investments and how we will demonstrate their achievement to the European Commission
– said the head of the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy Grzegorz Puda.
See also: Gas prices are skyrocketing again. In less than a week, they increased by 60%
2. Unlocking wind power means lower electricity prices in Poland
Among the many steps that Poland must take to obtain the first funds from the Reconstruction Fund is that of unlocking investments in onshore wind power. This is an amendment to the law that prohibits placing wind turbines at a distance equal to or less than ten times the height of the wind turbine from residential buildings, introduced in 2016 by the government of Beata Szydło. The current government has been working on this at a record pace for many months, but it will probably end eventually. The draft has already gone through the government’s standing committee, and now has to go through the legal committee, to be approved by the whole government and sent to parliament.
The Ministry of Climate and Environment, responsible for the project, announced that the adoption of the amendment will allow the construction of new wind farms with a total capacity of 6 to 10 GW. This would double the current capacity of wind turbines, which is over 7 GW. In its opinion for the Legal Affairs Committee, the ministry also wrote that the development of renewable energies will result in lower electricity prices. This drop is estimated between 5 PLN and 30 PLN per megawatt hour of wholesale electricity prices, after exceeding the assumed capacity of the installation.
3. Crude oil finally got a little cheaper
The world is heading for a recession – the financial markets are worried, and from the point of view of ordinary consumers, these fears have a plus – because of them, oil has just started to fall a little.
Brent Crude Oil Price
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A barrel of Brent crude oil, which was still worth $125 on Tuesday, now costs just over $112. According to experts, on the one hand, it is the effect of the anticipation of a drop in demand in times of recession or economic slowdown. On the other hand, there are also interesting developments on the supply side. In the United States, the number of drilling rigs used for oil and gas extraction has reached its highest level since 2020.
After a two-year hiatus, oil exports from Venezuela to Europe have resumed (with the consent of the United States, which has made exceptions to its sanctions), while Russia has announced that it has the intention to increase its oil exports this year compared to 2021. Although it will not go to Europe where sanctions are in place, but it means that in general the global oil supply will not decrease , which is important for the level of prices on the world market. Russia has also indicated that the sanctions prohibiting the transport of oil by sea will not hurt it either, because all units containing Russian oil have been insured by Russian insurance companies, and these are backed by a Russian state-owned reinsurance company.
Cheaper crude oil does not translate into lower wholesale diesel prices in the Polish market, but gasoline prices are currently 2% lower. less than a week ago.
See also: The economy is going in the wrong direction. Most Poles have no doubts
4. Bank of America sees 40 percent. chances of a recession in the United States in 2023.
According to Bank of America, the probability that the United States will enter a recession is already 40%. It would happen next year. Bank economists write that the US central bank’s response to rising inflation proved to be too late. As a result, the Fed will now have to make up for lost time and raise rates to as much as 4%. and this, with some delay, will lead to a serious cooling of the American economy. As a result, there will be a recession in 2023, and after its end, in 2024, economic growth will still be weak. At the same time, inflation is expected to remain high throughout this period.
Bank of America also considers the risk of a recession this year to be low. On the other hand, he lowered the economic forecast for this year for the global economy and expects the pace of global GDP growth this year to be 3.2%, while the previous forecast indicated that it would increase by 4.3%.
See also: All-time record inflation in the euro zone. To blame for the sharp rise in energy and food prices. Poland in the lead
5. Bitcoin had a really bad weekend
The cryptocurrency market is the only one that operates during weekends and in the past it often happened that on Saturday or Sunday new records for bitcoin valuations or other assets in this market were broken . Now it is different, and the past weekend was again one of the rather unsuccessful ones, from the perspective of cryptocurrency holders. The bitcoin price on Saturday even fell below 18,000 hole. It then meant fall in prices since the peak reached in November 2021 to 74.4%.
Bitcoin Versus Dollar Quotes
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At the same time, the price also fell below the peak of 2017. However, it should be remembered that after the end of the bullish wave, there was a correction that lasted twelve months and caused the price to fall by 84%. so lower What is currently happening with bitcoin is not a record either in terms of depth of decline or duration. However, this is probably cold consolation for those who have suffered considerable losses in this market. It also seems that the reason for the declines is slightly different than it was then. It was a pretty massive speculative correction at the time, after speculative growth in a market that isn’t big or wide. Today, the cryptocurrency market is much broader, equipped with derivatives and the ability to leverage, i.e. play for borrowed money. In the event of a change in trend, the panic waves can therefore be more severe and cause a “domino effect” whereby price declines in one instrument can spread to another (someone who has borrowed money to play in a market that has collapsed must sell assets in other markets to repay the loan).
As for bitcoin – Sunday was better for him than Saturday – the rate returned above the 20,000 hole level.