IlluMyFi

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, on the final trading day of the year

European gas prices are also higher today, with the month-ahead contract up 0.8% at €48.25/MWh.

Reuters reports that Russia’s Gazprom said it will pump a reduced volume of gas to Europe via Ukraine today, the last day before the expiry of a deal that had kept the gas flowing throughout nearly three years of war, adding:

Gazprom said it would send only 37.2 million cubic metres on Tuesday compared to 42.4 mcm on Monday. Flows are expected to fall to zero from the early hours of Jan. 1 after the expiry of the five-year transit agreement.

Its demise marks the almost complete loss of Moscow’s once mighty hold over the European gas market. Ukraine refused to negotiate a new deal because of the war.

Sentiment

-0.55

Bearish/Bullish

05.01.25 07:00

by theguardian.com

New year, new deal: the buyout boom poised to take over City lawyers’ lives

Around-the-clock work will be commonplace to tackle an M&A surge fuelled by tax changes, activist investors … and the Trump factor

Whether they’re on skis or a sunlounger, there is no beach, mountain or fireside that can spare lawyers from the urgent calls of zealous, dealmaking executives and private equity bosses. After a breathless 2024, the City’s army of corporate lawyers are set for another year of masking their poolside backgrounds on video calls, braced for an even busier 2025.

“Sadly, we were incredibly busy in July and August. We were both on holiday and working up to 14 hours a day,” says Patrick Sarch, partner at law firm White & Case and head of its public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division. He and Sonica Tolani, another partner at the same firm, specialise in advising activist investors.

United States of America