LIZ: FOX BUSINESS ALERT, THAT IS
A WRAP.
PRESIDENT BIDEN CAPPING OFF A
PRETTY BUSY WEEK IN EUROPE,
MEETING WITH G-7 LEADERS AND A
HIGHLY CONSEQUENTIAL NATO SUMMIT
IN MADRID.
THE PRESIDENT ABOARD AIR FORCE
ONE ON HIS WAY HOME AT THE
MOMENT, BUT HE WORKED WITH WORLD
LEADERS EARLIER TODAY TO ROLLOUT
NEW STRATEGIES TO TARGET RUSSIA
AND SUPPORT UKRAINE.
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PROBLEMS AT
HOME TOOK CENTER STAGE AT HIS
END OF VISIT PRESS CONFERENCE.
LISTEN.
>> ULTIMATELY, THE REASON WHY
GAS PRICES ARE UP IS BECAUSE OF
RUSSIA.
RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, THE
REASON WHY THE FOOD CRISIS
EXISTS IS BECAUSE OF RUSSIA.
RUSSIA NOW ALLOWING GRAIN TO GET
OUT OF UKRAINE BUT I CAN
UNDERSTAND WHY THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE ARE FRUSTRATED BECAUSE OF
INFLATION, BUT INFLATION IS
HIGHER IN ALMOST EVERY OTHER
COUNTRY, PRICES AT THE PUMP ARE
HIGHER IN ALMOST EVERY OTHER
COUNTRY.
WE’RE BETTER POSITIONED TO DEAL
WITH THIS THAN ANYONE.
LIZ: WHILE RUSSIA’S WAR ON
UKRAINE RAGES ON WITH NO END
GAME, THE WORSENING GLOBAL
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ARE SHOWING
NO SIGNS OF EASING ANYTIME SOON.
LET’S BRING IN FORMER UNDER
SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC
GROWTH ENERGY AND THE
ENVIRONMENT, BOB HORMAT.
BOB, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
LET’S JUST BEGIN WITH YOU KNOW
ME, BOB.
I DON’T LIKE POLITICS, I DON’T
LIKE CULTURE WARS.
I LIKE SIMPLE NUMBERS AND PROOF
IN STATISTICS AND THE PROOF DOES
NOT HOLDUP TO WHAT PRESIDENT
BIDEN JUST SAID ABOUT OIL
PROBLEMS AND GASOLINE PROBLEMS
BEING RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA.
YES, OF COURSE WE HAVE CRUDE OIL
UP 17%, SINCE RUSSIA INVADED
UKRAINE, BUT CRUDE OIL PRICES
AND WE CAN SHOW THE CHART, ARE
UP 102% SINCE JOE BIDEN TOOK
OFFICE.
NATS THE YEAR-TO-DATE PICTURE
BUT IF WE STRETCH IT OUT TO WHEN
HE TOOK OFFICE, IT’S VERY
OBVIOUS THAT THIS HAS BEEN A
LONG BREWING PROBLEM, SO CAN WE
REALLY SAY THAT?
>> WELL, CERTAINLY RUSSIA HAS
HAD A MAJOR IMPACT ON OIL PRICES
BOTH IN THE UNITED STATES AND
AROUND THE WORLD.
IT’S ALSO TRUE THAT WE WERE SEE
ING INFLATIONARY PRESSURES
EMERGE IN THE U.S. BEFORE THAT,
AND THIS JUST ADDS TO THE
INFLATIONARY PRESSURE THAT WE
WERE HAVING ON OIL, GAS, AND
FOOD, BUT THE WORLD POINT IS A
VERY APT ONE AND THAT IS IF THEY
GO UP AND OTHER COUNTRIES AROUND
THE WORLD IT SHOWS THAT THERE IS
ONE COMMON DENOMINATOR, AND THE
COMMON DENOMINATOR WORLDWIDE
AND PARTIALLY IN THE UNITED
STATES ALSO, IS RUSSIA, AND IF
RUSSIA WERE TO NORMALIZE OIL &
GAS, OIL PRICES AND GAS PRICES
WOULD GO DOWN HERE AND ELSEWHERE
LIZ: WELL I’M NOT DENYING THAT
RUSSIA IS A HUGE ISSUE IN
COMMODITIES, ABSOLUTELY, BUT CAN
WE PUT UP R-BOB GASOLINE,
WHOLESALE GAS OWEN LOO IN THE
UNITED STATES?
ONCE AGAIN UP 23% SINCE RUSSIA’S
INVASION OF UKRAINE, BUT UP 131%
SINCE JOE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE, SO
AGAIN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
NUMBERS, I’M JUST NOT SURE IT
DOES HIM ANY GOOD TO BLAME
RUSSIA ENTIRELY HERE, AND THAT
SAYS, WELL HERE IT IS, UP 125%
SINCE JANUARY 20 OF 2021 WHEN
JOE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE, AND AGAIN
, THERE ARE MANY OTHER
ISSUES.
COVID AND THE LOCKDOWNS AND THE
SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS, BUT
AS WE TALK ABOUT ALL THAT’S
GOING ON, HE ALSO SAID THAT
THERE WERE MANY OTHER COUNTRIES
THAT HAD WORSE INFLATION LEVELS
THAN WE DO.
WELL, WE’RE SECOND-WORST BEHIND
THE UNITED KINGDOM WHEN IT COMES
TO G-7 COUNTRIES.
HE’S USING THE INTERNATIONAL
STAGE TO SAY THESE THINGS.
>> YES.
I CERTAINLY WOULD SAY THAT THE
NUMBERS YOU HAVE INDICATE
THAT THERE WAS A BIG INCREASE
BEFORE THAT.
NO QUESTION ABOUT THE NUMBERS
ARE TELLING US THAT.
I THINK THE POINT HE’S TRAYING
TO MAKE IS THAT IF WE WERE TO
GET THE RUSSIANS TO PULL OUT OF
UKRAINE, IT WOULD HAVE A
POSITIVE EFFECT ON THE MARKETS
AND OIL PRICES AND GAS PRICES
WOULD GO DOWN.
LIZ: OH, SURE.
>> AND THAT I THINK IS THE
POINT OF WHAT HE WAS TRYING
TO GET ACROSS.
LIZ: ABSOLUTELY.
I CAN SEE THAT TOO, BUT WHEN YOU
TALK ABOUT "GETTING PUTIN TO
EXIT OUT OF UKRAINE", WE’VE GOT
HISTORIC SANCTIONS PILED ALL
OVER RUSSIA AND ALL OVER RUSSIAN
S AND THE ELITES, ET
CETERA.
THE PROBLEM BECOMES THAT THEY
HAVE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO DEAL
WITH THIS , THE RUBLE JUST HIT A
SEVEN-YEAR HIGH AGAINST THE
DOLLAR.
WE HAVEN’T TALKED ABOUT THE
RUBLE IN A WHILE.
REMEMBER IT WAS COLLAPSING?
WELL THEY SOMEHOW FIGURED OUT
HOW TO GET IT BACKUP AGAIN.
HERE IS THE YEAR-TO-DATE PICTURE
SO CAN YOU SAY THAT THE
SANCTIONS ARE WORKING?
>> I THINK THE SANCTIONS ARE
WORKING.
THE RUBLE IS VERY MISLEADING IN
THE SENSE THAT IT’S UP IN PART
BECAUSE OIL PRICES ARE UP AND
RUSSIA STILL EXPORTS OIL & GAS.
THE SECOND IS THAT THEY CAN’T
IMPORT A LOT OF THINGS.
THEY ARE UNDER SANCTIONS, AND
THEIR BALANCE OF TRADE AND THEIR
CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS IS HIGH,
BECAUSE A LOT OF THINGS THAT
THEY WOULD OTHERWISE IMPORT,
THEY’RE NOT IMPORTING, AND THIRD
, THEY RAISED INTEREST
RATES QUITE DRAMATICALLY AND
THEY’VE CUT THEM BACK, BUT A BIG
PART OF THE BIG SPIKE IN THE
RUBLE WAS THAT THEY HAD
TIGHTENED THE MONETARY POLICY
VERY CONSIDERABLY, AND THEY ARE
TRYING TO UNWIND THAT, SO IT’S A
COMBINATION OF HIGHER OIL PRICES
, THEY CAN’T BUY AS MUCH
BECAUSE OF SANCTIONS, AND
TIGHTER MONETARY POLICY.
LIZ: I WANT ONE QUICK ANSWER.
>> THEIR ECONOMY ACTUALLY IS
NOT DOING WELL, A LOT OF
COMPANIES HAVE LEFT, A LOT OF
JOBS HAVE BEEN LOST AND I THINK
THEIR ECONOMY IS NOT IN GOOD
SHAPE.
LIZ: DISASTROUS.
THANKS, PUTIN, GREAT JOB.
>> ONE OF THE WORST ECONOMIES
IN THAT AREA, JUST AND SO WE
SHOULD LOOK AT A TRADE BALANCE
AS AN INDICATION OF THE STRENGTH
OF THEIR ECONOMY, THEIR ECONOMY
IS NOT GOOD IT’S BAD.
LIZ: BOB I NEED A REALLY QUICK
ANSWER ON THIS BUT OBVIOUSLY
FINLAND AND SWEDEN HAVE NOW BEEN
FORMERLY, THEY HAVE TAKEN THE
NEXT STEP TO GET THEM INTO
NATO.
HOW DO YOU EXPECT PUTIN WILL
EVENTUALLY REACT?
>> PUTIN WILL REACT?
I DON’T THINK THERE’S MUCH HAD E
CAN DO AT THIS POINT.
THE UNITED STATES HAS DONE AND
NATO HAS DONE A LOT TO INDICATE
THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE
SUPPORTIVE OF ALL THEIR NATO
PARTNERS, THEY ARE MOVING MORE
TROOPS INTO THE REGION, THEY ARE
GOING TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF
AVAILABLE TROOPS TO 300,000, WHO
ARE AT THE READY, AND PUTIN HAS
HIS HANDS FULL WITH UKRAINE AND
HE’S CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO TAKE
ON ANOTHER COUNTRY.
LIZ: YEAH, THAT HAS CERTAINLY
BACKFIRED IN PUTIN’S FACE THE
NATO SITUATION AND THANK YOU