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(Bloomberg) — Singapore’s police force said it’s investigating Hodlnaut Pte and its directors for potential cheating and fraud offenses, adding to the legal perils faced by the beleaguered cryptocurrency lender.

The probe began Wednesday following multiple reports alleging “false representations relating to the company’s exposure to a certain digital token,” the police said in a statement.

Hodlnaut, which halted withdrawals in August and was granted protection from creditors, didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment. The court-appointed interim judicial managers for Hodlnaut declined to comment.

The firm is one of a number of crypto lenders hurt by a near-70% drop in tokens over the past year and the implosion of the TerraUSD stablecoin project. Hodlnaut has previously said there are “pending proceedings” with the police.

An interim judicial managers’ report last month found that the firm had downplayed its exposure to the collapsed Terra digital-token ecosystem. Yet it suffered a near-$190 million loss from the wipeout.

Singapore has tightened up rules around retail crypto investment to shield individuals from the risks associated with a volatile sector.

For crypto market prices: CRYP; for top crypto news: TOP CRYPTO.

(Updates with interim judicial managers declining to comment in the third paragraph.)

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(Bloomberg) — One 97 Communications Ltd., the operator of India’s largest digital-payments provider known as Paytm, has capped the worst first-year share plunge among large IPOs over the past decade — and the pain is worsening. 

The company, whose founder compared its challenges to those faced by Tesla Inc. shortly after the listing, has seen its stock erase 75% of its market value one year after its $2.4 billion offering, the largest on record at the time in India. The dive is the steepest first-year slide globally among IPOs that raised at least the same amount since Spain’s Bankia SA’s 82% drop in 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Paytm’s grim first anniversary underscores an erosion of confidence in its ability to become profitable after debuting at a time when India’s IPO market was enamored with tech startups. It’s one among a slew of startups that listed with valuations seen by many as exaggerated.

READ: An $18 Billion Wipeout Is Harsh Reality of Five Famed India IPOs

The stock’s losses have deepened this week amid concerns over the emergence of a potential competitor owned by India’s biggest conglomerate. Last week, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. sold shares it held in Paytm as a lock-up period set in the IPO expired, fueling a three-day slide.

November’s 30% slide has taken its decline from the IPO price of 2,150 rupees to 79%.

Tech Rout

Tech stocks globally have been sold off as investors shun loss-making firms amid a deteriorating macroeconomic environment, JM Financial Ltd. analysts led by Sachin Dixit wrote in a note this week. 

“This feedback has been well received by company managements and we are seeing all Indian internet companies not just prioritizing profitability but also communicating the path forward explicitly,” they wrote. 

Paytm shares were sold at the top of a marketed range after an offering that attracted strong demand from individuals and funds, although they never traded above the listing price. The sale attracted traditional global stock pickers such as BlackRock Inc. and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

“In every rally, the market as a whole gets too excited about something,” said Shridatta Bhandwaldar, head of equities at Canara Robeco Asset Management. “In 2006-2008, we got too excited about construction companies and capital goods companies. In 2013-2014, we got too excited about midcaps. In 2017-2019 we got extremely excited about non-banking financial companies and in 2020-2022 people were just too excited about technology.”

“Some of these companies have good business models,” he said, adding that “still, you feel there is not enough margin of safety because these are evolving businesses.”

READ: Paytm Loss Widens After Indian Fintech Firm Spends on Expansion

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(Bloomberg) — A consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners Inc. is considering lowering its offer for Toshiba Corp. from about $16 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

While discussions are still ongoing, and no final decisions have been made, some members of the consortium have become hesitant about the proposed valuation for the company, citing its disappointing recent earnings, the people said. Earlier this month, Toshiba reported second quarter operating income of 7.55 billion yen ($54.4 million), coming in below analyst estimates. It also cut its operating income forecast for the full year.

The JIP-led group remains in talks with lenders about different financing structures and terms, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. 

Shares in Toshiba were down nearly 2.9% at 12:57 p.m. Tokyo time following the Bloomberg News report, their largest intraday decline in more than a week. The firm has a market value of about 2 trillion yen.

A JIP spokesperson declined to comment. A representative for Toshiba said the company can’t comment as it may undermine a fair process.

The potential takeover of one of Japan’s most iconic companies faces headwinds including rising financing costs. Interest rates in many countries have risen sharply and big banks are failing to offload the tens of billions of dollars worth of buyout debt that’s still stuck on their own books.

The JIP group, which is Toshiba’s preferred bidder, is in talks with about 20 potential co-investors to back its offer, Bloomberg News has reported. Those include Japanese companies such as Rohm Co., Suzuki Motor Corp. and Iwatani Corp., as well as financial services firm Orix Corp. Private equity firms including Baring Private Equity Asia and CVC Capital Partners have also expressed interest in joining the consortium, people familiar with the matter have said.

The JIP-led consortium already has about 1 trillion yen in equity funding commitments for its proposed takeover of Toshiba, people familiar with the matter have said. Other firms that are poised to join the bidding group include life insurance companies and investment funds, the people said.

State-backed investment fund Japan Investment Corp. is leading a potential rival group seeking to acquire Toshiba.

–With assistance from Yuki Furukawa and Taro Fuse.

(Updates with Toshiba shares in fourth paragraph.)

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(Bloomberg) — A gauge of global stocks headed for the highest level in more than two months on Thursday and the dollar fell after Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed support for tapering interest-rate increases.

Japanese, South Korean and Australian equities benchmarks advanced while Chinese gauges fluctuated. US futures climbed after the S&P 500 closed at a two-month high Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday. 

The moves in Hong Kong and the mainland came as investors weighed the impact of record Covid-19 cases against signs of loosening monetary conditions. Official comments broadcast Wednesday indicated the People’s Bank of China would allow banks to reduce capital reserves to stimulate growth.

China’s zero-Covid policy has had “a significant effect on consumption” while the property crisis is “affecting investment in the sector and affecting property developers,” Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director for the International Monetary Fund, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Government bond yields edged lower in Australia and New Zealand after Treasury yields fell Wednesday along with the dollar. A gauge of the greenback slid further Thursday to levels not seen since August on a closing price basis. There will be no trading in Treasuries due to the US holiday.

Minutes from the Fed gathering earlier this month indicated several officials backed the need to moderate the pace of rate hikes, even as some underscored the need for a higher terminal rate.

This adds weight to expectations the central bank will raise rates by 50 basis points next month, ending a run of jumbo 75 basis point increases. Data Wednesday also showed US business activity contracted and unemployment applications rose as the economy cools.

Oil fell as the European Union considered a higher-than-expected price cap on Russian crude and signs of a global slowdown increased. 

Gold rose for a third day on the Fed minutes. The precious metal has been hurt by the US central bank’s aggressive monetary-tightening policy to curb inflation, which has pushed up bond yields and the dollar and in turn sent bullion tumbling about 16% from its March peak. 

Bill Ackman, founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management LP, said he’s betting against the Hong Kong dollar and its peg with the greenback.

Pershing owns a “large notional position” in Hong Kong dollar put options — bearish wagers on the currency — he said in a tweet, adding that the peg no longer made sense for Hong Kong.

The won and three-year bond futures rose after the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points. The increase, which was expected, is a pivot away from bigger hikes.

Key events this week:

• ECB publishes account of its October policy meeting, Thursday
• US stock and bond markets are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, Thursday
• US stock and bond markets close early, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% as of 12:16 p.m. Tokyo time. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6%
• Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3%. The Nasdaq 100 rose 1%
• The Topix Index rose 1.4%
• The S&P ASX Index rose 0.3%
• The Hang Seng Index rose 0.1%
• The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.3%
• Euro Stoxx 50 futures were little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
• The euro rose 0.4% to $1.0438
• The Japanese yen rose 0.6% to 138.71 per dollar
• The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 7.1449 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 1.6% to $16,727.5
• Ether rose 2.6% to $1,199.29

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell six basis points to 3.69% Wednesday
• Australia’s 10-year yield declined five basis points to 3.54%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.2% to $77.82 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,755.42 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Rheaa Rao.

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(Bloomberg) — Zhengzhou, home to Apple Inc.’s largest iPhone manufacturing site, will be largely locked down for five days as officials in the Chinese city resort to tighter curbs to quell a swelling Covid-19 outbreak.  

Mobility controls — a euphemism for lockdown — will be imposed in the main urban areas of Zhengzhou from Friday through Nov. 29 because of rising virus cases, Zhengzhou’s pandemic task force said in a statement late Wednesday. The city reported 996 infections on Wednesday, up from 813 a day earlier.

The new restrictions were announced after hundreds of workers at the plant, known as ‘iPhone City’ for its scale, streamed out of dormitories earlier in the day. Employees at the Foxconn Technology Group factory clashed with white-clad security personnel, according to videos from the scene, with anger over unpaid wages and fear over virus infections fueling the unrest. 

Read more: Violent Protests Erupt at Apple’s Main IPhone Plant in China

According to the Zhengzhou government’s Wednesday night directive, people living in areas designated as high risk must stay at home, while others are advised not to leave their residences or compounds unless necessary. Daily PCR tests will also be conducted.

Ronnie Cai, 31, lives in one of the locked down districts. He said there were rumors more intensive restrictions were coming before the announcement. 

“I just don’t understand how, after fighting the virus for a month already, we can really get it under control in five days,” Cai said. “I have food that I stockpiled earlier and community officials said we can go out to buy food at a specific time, but we haven’t been given guidance on how it will work yet.” 

The district where Foxconn’s factories are located wasn’t included in the eight districts to be placed under lockdown, according to the government’s statement. 

Still, the plant is in an area already classed as high risk, which means lockdown-like movement restrictions remain in place. The company has been operating a so-called closed loop at the site for some time, where workers are effectively confined to their dorms and the production line, with no contact with the outside. The systems allow factories to maintain production amid Covid lockdowns, but the requirement to seal workers off has led to unrest both in Zhengzhou and elsewhere.

More: Apple Supplier Faces Worker Revolt in Locked Down China Factory

Zhengzhou’s moves mark a step back toward the sweeping, intensive Covid curbs China was using before top leaders urged a more targeted approach. 

In the week or so since China’s National Health Commission issued a new 20-point playbook for handling Covid with fewer disruptions, surging infections have seen a raft of cities forced to revert to the tougher approach of old. Shijiazhuang, a city close to Beijing that eased a raft of testing in the wake of the new directives, had to backtrack within a few days, effectively locking down the city.   

Covid Zero Returns to Chinese City Rumored to Be Reopening

‘Elimination Battle’

Traffic controls aimed at keeping non-essential vehicles off the roads will also be in place in Zhengzhou. The city will wage an “elimination battle” against Covid over the next five days, with no household or person missed in a mass testing exercise, the state-run Zhengzhou Daily said. 

It’s a marked shift for a city that was criticized in the past by China’s National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention for using blanket shutdowns instead of more precise curbs.

Zhengzhou’s moves show the difficulty of applying a lighter, more targeted approach to Covid when the aim is still to suppress outbreaks. More contagious variants of the virus have made China’s Covid Zero policy, which was deployed successfully during the initial outbreak in Wuhan, virtually untenable without sweeping restrictions. 

“Excess restrictions are hard to resist as long as containing the outbreak remains the central task of Covid Zero,” said Neo Wang, Evercore ISI managing director for China Research, adding that the new measures seem justified. “That means the government will continue prioritizing the protection of the industrial sector and supply chains.”

–With assistance from Henry Ren and Mengchen Lu.

(Updates with comments from locked-down resident from fifth paragraph.)

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(Bloomberg) — Nintendo Co.’s latest blockbuster release for the Switch console is the company’s biggest debut on any platform, scoring 10 million sales globally in its first three days.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were released simultaneously on Nov. 18 and sold over 4 million units at home in Japan, also setting a new domestic record. The games are identical except for the lineup of characters and collectibles in each version. Nintendo had only recently reached its last domestic sales high with the well-received Splatoon 3 in September, auguring a successful holiday season for the games and console maker.

Nintendo shares were up as much as 1.9% in Tokyo on Thursday morning after the announcement.

“The sales record is not really a surprise, as the Pokémon brand seems invincible,” said Tokyo-based industry analyst Serkan Toto. “What is interesting is that this particular game is plagued by bugs and glaring performance problems that really expose the age of the Switch hardware. But hardcore fans don’t care.”

Now five years old, Nintendo’s Switch console relies on big game launches to maintain momentum for its software and hardware sales. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was its runaway hit during the pandemic, when demand for home entertainment and gaming surged, but the latest Splatoon and Pokémon franchise entries have opened to even bigger sales. Console rival Sony Group Corp., for comparison, recorded its best first-party game launch ever this month with God of War Ragnarök, which sold 5.1 million units over its first week.

Both Japanese entertainment giants have offered cautious forecasts for the year ahead, as demand wavered over the course of this year. Nintendo sliced 10% off its fiscal-year Switch console sales forecast this month, citing prolonged shortages in chip supply as part of the cause. Company executives have said they remain confident in the Switch’s appeal despite its age.

Nintendo Sinks 7% After Cutting Switch Sales Forecast

(Updates with analyst comment in fourth paragraph)

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(Bloomberg) — Singapore’s ride-hailing and food-delivery workers are set to gain more benefits like insurance and pensions, but the platform companies using them won’t need to treat them as full-time employees.

In a decision affecting companies such as Grab Holdings Ltd., GoTo Group, Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda and Deliveroo Plc, the government said Wednesday it accepted all 12 recommendations from a committee working on new standards for the gig economy. The new rules will require legislative changes and will become effective in the latter half of 2024 at the earliest.

While the new rules will guarantee more benefits to the workers, for instance in the case of injury, the cost increase for the platform companies will be limited because they won’t need to take them on as full-time employees. Shares of GoTo, the provider of the Gojek ride-hailing service, advanced 1.1% in Jakarta in early Thursday trading. Grab rose 1.4% in New York on Wednesday.

Singapore’s Gig Workers Appeal to Government for More Protection

The move reflects the growing pressure on gig economy stalwarts such as Uber Technologies Inc. as governments around the world consider policy changes to raise wages or provide health-care to contract employees who don’t enjoy full-time benefits. Critics say that food-delivery companies like Grab, Foodpanda and Deliveroo — which flourished during the pandemic — have exacerbated social inequities by not properly rewarding their riders.

Read More: A 59-Hour Week Is Common for Singapore Gig Workers, Study Shows

Last month, shares of Uber and Lyft Inc. tumbled after the Biden administration issued a proposal that could change the way it approaches workers’ employment status, a move that could upend the ride-hailing companies’ business models. In September, the European Commission set out new rules that would mean people working for food-delivery and ride-hailing apps can presume that they are an employee regardless of what they are called in their contract.

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(Bloomberg) — Chinese developers rallied Thursday as more signs of government policy support emerged for the debt-ravaged sector. 

A Bloomberg Intelligence stock gauge of builders climbed as much as 5%, with Country Garden Holdings Co. jumping 13%. Gains in property firms’ dollar bonds were more selective, with investment-grade builder Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. leading outperformers along with Country Garden and China Vanke Co.

China’s mega state-owned banks are offering at least 220 billion yuan ($31 billion) in new credit to property developers as part of the nation’s push to ease turmoil in the real estate market. That comes as builders are ramping up planned bond issuance under a state-guarantee program that first emerged in August. 

Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on Wednesday called for support in the property market and reiterated pledges to keep financing stable. The government also signaled that more monetary policy stimulus — including a cut to banks’ reserve requirement ratio — is on the table.

“The core of the policy is to build a firewall between developers that have already defaulted and those that haven’t,” said Li Kai, founder of Beijing Shengao Fund Management Co. “There will be limited impact on the defaulters, as the policy support is not targeting them — but it would still boost their bond prices.”

Developers have defaulted on a record amount of dollar bonds this year, but onshore delinquencies have fallen sharply this year as many firms have reached deals with noteholders on payment extensions. 

“Whether developers that defaulted offshore will avoid an onshore default primarily depends on their cash flows rather than policy help,” said Li.

–With assistance from Lorretta Chen.

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(Bloomberg) — In the weeks since crypto exchange FTX collapsed, questions have swirled about everything from the risk management practices at Sam Bankman-Fried’s companies to who might be the next domino to fall.

A smaller, perhaps more niche subsection of crypto Twitter has also wondered: will Bankman-Fried honor his scheduled appearance at the New York Times’ annual DealBook Summit? It would be the former FTX CEO’s first public appearance — cryptic Twitter threads notwithstanding — since he sought bankruptcy protection for his fallen crypto empire.

True to form, Bankman-Fried on Wednesday tweeted that he would in fact be speaking with New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin at the summit in New York next week. Sorkin, a columnist at the Times, retweeted the post before adding additional commentary.

A spokesperson for the New York Times said it currently expects Bankman-Fried to participate in the interview from the Bahamas. FTX was based in the island nation.

“There are a lot of important questions to be asked and answered,” Sorkin wrote in a tweet of his own. “Nothing is off limits.”

As FTX and related entities unraveled this month and Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO, his public persona has been relatively muted. Instead of frequent television appearances, he’s opted for long Twitter threads and exchanging direct messages on the platform with reporters. 

That social media presence has brought trouble. Lawyers for FTX said in court documents that Bankman-Fried’s “incessant and disruptive tweeting” were undermining their restructuring efforts. Law firm Paul Weiss said it had stopped representing Bankman-Fried due to “conflicts.” 

FTX’s sprawling operations were raising questions even before billions of dollars in financial ties between the exchange operator and Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research investment arm alarmed investors and undid his empire.

Prosecutors and regulators including the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are now seeking help from new FTX Chief Executive Officer John J. Ray III. He took over as part of its bankruptcy proceeding and is navigating what he described as “a complete absence of trustworthy financial information.”

• Read more: What FTX’s Bankman-Fried Said When We Asked Him About Red Flags

–With assistance from Gerry Smith.

(Updates in the fourth paragraph with comment from the New York Times.)

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(Bloomberg) — A barrage of Russian missile strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities prompted the country’s grid operator to halt three nuclear power plants and enact emergency blackouts amid below-zero temperatures. 

“Energy terror continues,” Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said on Telegram. “We will withstand. They won’t break us.”

The president of the European Parliament said that a pro-Kremlin group had claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against the legislature. The body had earlier in the day adopted a non-binding resolution to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. 

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

• Ukraine Blackouts Threaten Pipeline Bringing Gas to Europe
• Russia Knocks Out the Power Keeping Millions of Ukrainians Warm
• IMF Reaches Deal With Ukraine, Paving Way for Billions in Aid
• Pro-Russia Group Claims Cyberattack on European Parliament
• Russia’s Big Crude Oil Pipeline Via Ukraine Is Partly Halted
• EU Set to Soften Russian Oil Price Cap Plan Before Approval 

On the Ground

In addition to the attacks against energy infrastructure across Ukraine, Russian missiles killed 10 people in residential buildings, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy said on Facebook. He said Russia has launched almost 600 missiles at Ukraine since Oct. 10. Russian forces hit a maternity ward in the Zaporizhzhia region with missiles overnight, killing a newborn, Governor Oleksandr Starukh said on Telegram. Ukraine said the eastern front was at center of Russia’s attacks, especially in Bakhmut and Avdiyivka. 

(All times CET)

Zelenskiy Asks UN to Condemn ‘Energy Terror’ (11:30 p.m.)

Zelenskiy addressed the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday after Russia launched its latest massive missile assault.

“When it is freezing temperature outside and millions of people are cut off from electricity, heating and water as a result of Russia’s missile attack on energy facilities, it is a clear crime against humanity,” Zelenskiy told the gathering in a virtual appearance. “We are waiting for the world’s tough response to Russia’s terror. Ukraine proposes the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on condemning any form of energy terror.”

Zelenskiy invited UN experts to inspect Ukraine’s infrastructure that has been hit by Russian missiles, or could become a target. “There is a need of fair assessment of damages. We need to record that those are strikes on that infrastructure that ensures lives of tens of millions of people,” he said.

White House Condemns Russia’s ‘Horrific Attacks’ (9:51 p.m.)

“As Russia struggles on the battlefield, it is increasingly turning to horrific attacks against the Ukrainian people with punishing strikes damaging energy grid infrastructure, and deliberately doing so as winter approaches,” Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White House’s National Security Council, said in a statement.

“These strikes do not appear aimed at any military purpose and instead further the goal of the Putin regime to increase the suffering and death of Ukrainian men, women and children” she said. “It also shows Russia is willing to increase the risk of a nuclear safety incident that could not only further harm Ukraine but affect the entire region as well.” 

Ukraine’s Economy May Fall 35% This Year, Deputy Economy Chief Says (8:43 p.m.)

Ukraine’s economy has demonstrated “huge flexibility” amid Russia’s invasion but still may fall by as much as 35% this year, Deputy Economy Minister Tetyana Berezhna said.

The decline may be deeper, depending on the impact of Russia’s continuing attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities, she said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Canada.

“We will be watching at the attacks on infrastructure and I hope that the sanctions that the international governments will impose on Russia will stop Russia from attacking our infrastructure so we could stand on this number,” Berezhna said.

Russian Oil Flows Resumed Through Ukraine’s Part of Druzhba Link (7:02 p.m.)

Oil flows through Ukraine’s section of the southern leg of Russia’s Druzhba pipeline system into Europe resumed, after a halt for several hours amid Russian strikes on critical infrastructure. 

The disruption on Wednesday came just hours after Ukraine’s grid operator deliberately shut off power in every district while authorities from cities across the nation reported blackouts and halted mass transport lines following a fresh barrage of Russian missile attacks.

The resumption of flows was confirmed by Igor Dyomin, a spokesman at Transneft PJSC, which operates the system in Russia.

Pentagon Spells Out Latest $400 Million in Weapons (5 p.m.)

The Pentagon said the latest $400 million to be drawn down from existing inventories to arm Ukraine includes more munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS.) Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said last week that the two systems already in operation in Ukraine have been 100% effective.

The new package authorized by President Joe Biden includes 150 heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights to counter Russian attack drones, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds, mortar rounds, more than 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and additional HARMS air-dropped missiles designed to attack Russian ground radar.

EU Parliament Hit by Cyberattack After Russia Vote (4:59 p.m.)

The website of the European Parliament suffered a cyberattack, making it inaccessible for several hours Wednesday, its president, Roberta Metsola said in a tweet. She added that a pro-Kremlin group claimed responsibility.

The attack followed the adoption of a non-binding resolution to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism. The parliament didn’t formally connect the two events.

US Defense Chief Says Russia Is Short of Munitions (4:29 p.m.)

Russia’s stock of precision-guided artillery munitions “has been significantly reduced” and can’t be rapidly replenished because of trade restrictions on computer chips, Austin told reporters who traveled with him to Cambodia.

“We’ll see if they’re able to go back on the offensive or it’s going to be a break in time before they’re able to regenerate the capability they think they need,” he said, adding that he hasn’t seen evidence of additional large-scale Russian troop mobilizations so far.

Moldova Restores Power After Nationwide Blackout (4:02 p.m.)

All of Moldova, including the capital Chisinau and the pro-Russia separatist territory of Transnistria, was briefly without power, according to Maciek Wozniak, a Polish adviser to the Moldovan state utility Energocom. For about two hours there was “no water and phone lines,” or working traffic lights, he said in a text message exchange.

The cause was likely a domino effect from missile Russian strikes around the Ukrainian city of Odesa that had shut down the region’s grid, according to Wozniak, including a high voltage line from Romania that since last month has carried most of Moldova’s electricity.

Ukraine Halts Nuclear Power Plants on Grid Damage (3:41 p.m.)

Ukrainian power company Energoatom said it disconnected its South Ukrainian, Rivne and Khmelnytska nuclear plants from the power grid after Russian missile strikes damaged power lines and the plants have no place to transmit power.

Energoatom said on Telegram that the units will be reconnected once the grid is back to normal.

Russia’s Big Crude Oil Pipeline Via Ukraine Is Partly Halted (3:38 p.m.)

The southern leg of Russia’s giant Druzhba oil pipeline to Europe was partly halted in Ukraine, according to Transneft, which operates the system in Russia. The leg feeds refineries in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. 

Crude flows are for the time being continuing from Belarus to an intake point in Brody, Ukraine, but from that point there are no onward flows, Igor Dyomin, a Transneft spokesman, said by phone. If Ukraine doesn’t resume oil flows from Brody, then oil deliveries from Belarus will be halted as well, he added.

IMF and Ukrainian Authorities Reach Staff Level Pact (2:50 p.m.)

Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund that may open a path to a financial lifeline as the war-battered nation seeks as much as $20 billion to shore up its reserves and budget needs. 

The deal between Kyiv and the Washington-based lender is a so-called staff-level agreement aimed at establishing a full lending program to unlock billions in financing next year if the government meets conditions, according to the lender’s statement on Wednesday.

The four-month program “will provide an anchor for macroeconomic policies and catalyze donor support,” Gavin Gray, who led the IMF mission, said in a statement.

All Ukrainian Regions Have Emergency Power Cuts (2:42 p.m.)

Grid operator Ukrenergo said that emergency power cuts were being enacted in all regions after the widespread Russian attacks on infrastructure.

Ukrenergo, commenting in a statement on Facebook, said power cuts were needed to prevent further technical failures in the energy system after severe damage from repeated strikes since mid-October.

Kyiv Mayor Says Russian Missile Hit Infrastructure Facility (2 p.m.)

A missile fired by Russian forces hit a piece infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, without elaborating.

Following blasts in Kyiv, power momentarily shut off in part of the city before coming back on, according to eye witnesses. Emergency services were deployed to the sites, Klitschko said.

European Parliament Declares Russia State Sponsor of Terrorism (12:44 p.m.)

The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, to pave the way for President Vladimir Putin and his government to be held accountable for war crimes before an international tribunal. 

The resolution calls on EU member states to swiftly complete work on a ninth sanctions package against Moscow. 

EBRD Helps to Shore Up Critical Industries (12:35 p.m.)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is giving a €50 million guarantee to back lending to critical industries in Ukraine. The lender was issuing risk-sharing instruments to three local banks and a leasing company.

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