On The Money — Biden moves to close Russia sanctions loopholes

The Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions meant to ensure Russia is complying with previous sanctions. We’ll also look at a March dip in home sales, a small increase in gas prices and a record boom in lobbying revenue. 

But first, find out why Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) thinks the Fed has become too “woke.” 

Welcome to On The Money, your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line. For The Hill, we’re Sylvan Lane, Aris Folley and Karl Evers-Hillstrom. Subscribe here.

Russian bank, network hit with new US sanctions 

The Biden administration said Wednesday it is imposing sanctions on a bank and a network of individuals and entities the U.S. says are helping Russia evade sanctions imposed in a response to its invasion of Ukraine. 

The Treasury Department said that it is sanctioning a private Russian commercial bank, Transkapitalbank, as well as a network led by Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, alleging involvement in attempts to evade sanctions on Russia. 

Additionally, the department announced that it is sanctioning Russian firm Bitriver and 10 of its Russia-based subsidiaries as part of an effort to target Russia’s cryptocurrency mining industry, which the agency said helps monetize Russian exports. 

The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant breaks it down here.

LEADING THE DAY 

Gasoline prices inch upwards 

The price of gasoline has inched upwards over the past few days, following a significant drop from where it was about a month ago.  

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average U.S. gasoline price on Wednesday stood at around $4.11 per gallon. That’s up from about $4.08 a week ago, but still below prices a month ago, which averaged $4.26.  

• Gasoline prices soared following Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine and have remained high in the aftermath. But in recent weeks, they dipped down a bit as coronavirus-related lockdowns in China drove down global oil demand. Announcements of strategic reserve oil release from the U.S. and elsewhere were also expected to contribute more supply. 
• The prices are typically controlled by the price of crude oil which is used to make it. On Wednesday, U.S. crude cost about $103 per barrel. That’s lower than the $108 per barrel where prices stood on Monday, but up from earlier in the month when prices were below $100. 
• Asked about the recent rise in prices, Tom Kloza, Global Head of Energy Analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, noted that on May 15, many global traders plan to reduce purchases of oil from Russia’s state-owned oil companies because of European Union sanctions. 

“The highest suppression of Russian exports is still in the future,” he said. Kloza added that the dissolution of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has created a “geopolitical premium on crude.” 

The analyst predicted that prices would remain relatively high for the next few weeks. 

Read more here from The Hill’s Rachel Frazin.  

HOME SALES DIP 

Home sales slip in March; prices up 15 percent on last year 

Home sales in the United States declined in March for the second consecutive month as the price tag of homes increased by about 15 percent from a year ago, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. 

Sales of homes in all regions of the U.S. stayed steady or dropped from the previous month and from a year ago, according to the group.  

• Monthly sales declined the most in the Midwest, dropping 4.5 percent from February and 3.1 percent from March 2021.  Existing home sales in the South declined by 3 percent from February and March 2021, while sales in the Northeast dipped 2.9 percent from February and 11.8 percent on last year. 
• Although sales of homes declined in most regions, the median prices of existing homes in the U.S. have soared by 15 percent from a year ago, reaching a price of $375,300 in March 2022, up from $326,300 in March 2021, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

The Hill’s Caitlin McClean has more here. 

K STREET CASH 

Lobbying heavy hitters see earnings boom in first quarter 

K Street’s largest lobbying firms reported massive earnings in the first three months of 2022 as the industry set its sights on a jam-packed legislative calendar leading up to November’s midterms.    

Most of Washington’s top lobbying firms had their best first quarter on record and fell just short of last year’s extraordinary fourth-quarter revenues that capped off a record-breaking year for K Street, according to figures shared with The Hill.  

• Hired guns say they are focused on bills to boost U.S. competitiveness with China and impose tougher antitrust rules on tech giants along with annual spending packages.   
• They’re also ramping up their lobbying around Biden administration rulemaking, helping businesses navigate U.S. sanctions on Russia and racing to secure federal infrastructure funds for state and local government clients. 

Karl has more here. 

Good to Know

Workers at an Apple store in Georgia on Wednesday became the first at the Silicon Valley giant to file for a union election. 

The unit proposed by the union would include a little more than 100 workers at a store in the Cumberland Mall in Atlanta. Seventy percent of those workers have signed cards in support of an election, according to the Communications Workers of America, which would represent them in the event of a victory. 

Here’s what else we have our eye on: 

• CNBC: “Netflix closes down 35% wiping more than $50 billion off market cap” 
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted another cryptic tweet on Twitter late Wednesday, saying “_______ is the Night” — the latest message to come after filing an offer to buy the social media platform for $43 billion. 
• Use of natural gas to generate electricity likely peaked in 2020, according to research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Finance (IEEFA).  
• Three federal agencies and a number of international partners issued a joint advisory on Wednesday regarding Russian cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure that could affect “organizations both within and beyond Ukraine.”

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading and check out The Hill’s Finance page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.

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