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This is an official declaration of Covid era is over
No isolation even you got covid
Waiting for putin to give his soviet dream so we can move above 2.00p +
People in England will no longer have to self-isolate after testing positive for coronavirus by the end of next week, Downing Street has said
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce the decision tomorrow - which also applies to close contacts - as he moves to scrap all remaining COVID-19 restrictions.
Sunday 20 February 2022 04:35, UK
Russia’s financial markets faced renewed pressure Friday evening after reports civilians were being evacuated from breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and more warnings from Western capitals that a Russian invasion could be imminent.
The dollar-denominated RTS index of leading Russian stocks dropped 4% on Friday, prices falling late in afternoon trading after leaders in the pro-Russian Donetsk and Luhansk republics called on citizens to evacuate to Russia, issuing their own warnings of a looming offensive from Kyiv.
The back-and-forth of diplomacy and competing claims about a Russian drawdown has caused yet more confusion on trading floors trying to grasp the likelihood of a further deterioration.
Slava Smolyaninov, executive director and chief strategist at BCS Global Markets, told The Moscow Times that traders “have given up on guessing” what will happen next as war fears showed no sign of dissipating.
“Investors are tired of these notorious headline risks that send the market plummeting and rising in a matter of hours, not to mention days or weeks.”
19 feb
After a failed carnival holiday in 2021 due to the travel ban, Belgians are looking forward to being able to leave again this year. As has been the case all winter, travellers are waiting for the last minute to book: one in two bookings recorded in recent weeks is for carnival holidays.
TUI, the country’s largest tour operator, is already registering 7% more reservations than for Carnival 2019. Reservations made in the last 4 weeks even exceed the number of reservations for the same period in 2019 by 128%
More than one out of two TUI holidaymakers (58%) chose to fly to get the sun during this winter period. Spain remains the favourite destination for Belgians since it alone accounts for 60% of travellers who leave by plane.
More than two-thirds of them opt for the Canary Islands, islands of eternal spring. Egypt and Cape Verde, destinations a little further afield, complete the ranking of the most chosen destinations.
Long-haul destinations are not to be outdone because, with fairly flexible entry conditions, Mexico and the Dominican Republic are on the rise.
In order to be able to meet the growing demand of recent weeks, the airline TUI fly Belgium has increased its air capacity for the carnival holidays, but also, more generally, for the months of February and March, to Tenerife and Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), Malaga (Costa del Sol) and to Egypt
17th feb
The reopening of borders
Just this month, broker Liberum stated it “remains optimistic” about the IAG share price. This is primarily because it anticipates a “resumption in the relaxation of travel curbs”. Indeed, it is not difficult to understand why Liberum struck such a positive note.
In recent weeks, more countries have been reopening borders. Some have lifted the restrictions altogether. Last weekend, for instance, Norway decided to allow international visitors to enter regardless of testing or vaccination status.
Switzerland followed yesterday, with the Federal Council stating that it “will no longer be necessary to provide proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test or complete an entry form”.
Sweden and Spain have also made moves to make entry easier for international travellers. I believe this may have a domino effect, as potential tourism revenue may inspire more countries to fully open. Increased travel will likely be very positive news for the IAG share price.
Adding to my holding is not without its risks, though. There is the eternal possibility of further variants shutting down travel again. Furthermore, rising fuel prices could negatively impact the IAG share price, because this affects the firm’s purchase of jet fuel, unless it is currently hedged at lower levels.
Nonetheless, Morgan Stanley placed a €2.50 (£2.09) price target on the company. It cited recovering cash flow for doing so. What’s more, the business is truly global, meaning that it will also benefit from the recovery of corporate travel. Rival airlines, like easyJet and Wizz Air, do not have this luxury, because they are short-haul-focused. Indeed, it is estimated that the transatlantic routes operated by British Airways and Aer Lingus are worth around $1bn to IAG annually.
This reopening investment does come with its risks, like further variants and fuel prices. Nonetheless, I predict that more countries will follow in removing all pandemic restrictions. These moves could mean a surge in the IAG share price, owing to increased global travel. I will be adding to my holding without delay.
MT 17 feb
PARIS, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) beat analysts expectations on Thursday as it posted a second consecutive quarterly core profit since the pandemic started, helped by long-haul routes and the reopening of the transatlantic travel last November.
The Franco-Dutch airline group's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) came in at 745 million euros ($845.65 million) for the year, beating a Refinitiv poll of analysts who had pegged the figure at 342.9 million euros.
The company, however, posted a net loss of 3.29 billion euros, but better than feared, while revenue of 14.32 billion euros outpaced the Refinitiv poll estimates at 13.97 billion euros.
At the time of third-quarter results in October, the company had guided for a "slightly" positive EBITDA for the year. read more
Russian buildup continues, but insufficient for full-scale invasion, Ukrainian military intelligence says
The Russian military contingent near the Ukrainian border is insufficient to carry out a successful large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine," the report said.
Instead, Ukrainian intelligence believes that Russia has focused its efforts on "destabilizing Ukraine's internal situation" using punitive economic and energy-related tactics, as well as cyberattacks.
Dozens of Ukrainian websites belonging to government agencies and banks have been targeted by cyberattacks in recent days. It is not clear who was responsible for the hacking incidents, but Ukrainian authorities have blamed Russia.
1801 GMT February 16, 2022
Russian troops will end drills in Belarus on Sunday - Moscow
Russia's ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov was earlier speaking to Sky News following a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.
Speaking about the congregation of Russian troops near
Ukraine, he said: "All those groups are in Russian territory, with the only exception of those participating in joint exercises with Belarus in the territory of that country."
Mr Chizhov said the Belarusian drills are in the "finishing stage, and many of its groups who were participating in those joint exercises have already begun moving out".
He went on to reiterate that the Russian position regarding European security "is not limited to Ukraine".
"It is much wider. we believe that any NATO enlargement would be detrimental to European security," he said.
More military columns are reportedly set to be withdrawn from the peninsula after drills are completed.
Russia said yesterday that it had pulled back some troops from the Ukrainian border - posting apparent footage of troops returning to their bases - but there has been scepticism about this in the West
Hour ago
Kremlin spokesman jokes Kiev should set an alarm so it wouldn’t sleep through the “attack” alleged by West
Russia has mocked claims made by Western media outlets that an “invasion” of Ukraine will begin at 3am on February 16, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Ukrainians who believe such things are welcome to stay up.
“It’s better for them to set alarms for this time and see for themselves,” Peskov jokingly told RIA Novosti shortly after midnight on Wednesday, when asked whether Ukrainians can sleep peacefully or need to worry.
President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary was commenting on reports in a number of Western outlets – notably several British tabloids – that Russia would “invade” Ukraine at 3am local time on Wednesday (0100 GMT). The outlets cited anonymous US intelligence officials as sources for the claim.
Feb 15 22.44 GMT
It's now the turn of the German chancellor to speak, and he says it is "very good" the two leaders are talking with one another.
After some more pleasantries, the German chancellor turns to the more politically difficult side of his talks with Vladimir Putin.
He says this is the "most severe crisis we've had in Europe for some time", saying the West considers the amassing of troops on the Ukrainian border as a threat.
"We cannot emphasise enough how worried we are about 100,000 troops along the border," Olaf Scholz says.
"We cannot see any reason why they should be there."
He says de-escalation is "essential" but the sides have "not yet exhausted diplomatic solutions" and will "work towards a peaceful solution".
The withdrawal of some Russian troops is a "good sign" and "we are prepared to talk about very concrete steps in order to ensure peace and security", Mr Scholz says.
It is his "urgent plea and wish" that the situation does not reach an impasse.
Asked whether he wants a war in Europe, President Vladimir
Putin says "of course we don't".
He says this is why a talking process is ongoing.
However, he says the results of the negotiations should be an agreement on "equal security".
"Unfortunately, there has been no meaningful constructive response to our proposals," he says.
Putin says 'of course we don't' want war in Europe
Russian president says talks have been 'very useful and meaningful'
Vladimir Putin thanks his German counterpart Olaf Scholz for agreeing to meet, saying Germany and Russia are "very close to each other".
He says the pair had "very useful and meaningful dialogue".
Just now live press conference
On individual stocks, IAG, easyJet and Ryanair are Liberum's most favoured. It has a 'buy' recommendation for the trio. Conversely, it rates Air France-KLM SA and Deutsche Lufthansa AG at 'sell'.
Our Moscow correspondent Diana Magnay says the latest moves by Russia are a "very good sign" that diplomacy could still work.
As we've mentioned, Russia's military has said some troops are being pulled back from the Ukrainian border.
In a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov yesterday, the foreign minister had suggested there was still a path for diplomacy.
Just now Sky