Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com – The U.S., EU and other countries agree to increase liquefied supplies. This will help Europe reduce dependence on Russian energy. The war has impacted the region’s economy and caused a collapse in business confidence in Germany and Italy. Apple (NASDAQ: ) is reportedly exploring subscription options for its hardware. Meanwhile, the LA Dodgers owners and Philadelphia 76ers owners are engaged in a race to purchase European soccer champions Chelsea from a Russian sanctioned oligarch. What you need to know about Friday, March 25th in the financial markets

1. U.S. Europe struck a gas supply deal

To help reduce Russian gas imports from the EU, the U.S. offered to provide more liquefied natural gases to Europe.

A factsheet from the White House spoke of an “at least 15 billion cubic meters in 2022, with expected increases going forward.” By 2030, the two sides will aim to increase LNG shipments by 50 billion cubic meters a year from current levels.

While that is a substantial amount, it’s still not enough to replace all of the EU’s gas imports from Russia, which typically run well over 100 billion cubic meters a year.

At a summit of EU leaders, Joe Biden (the United States President) announced the news. So far there has been no clarity on the bloc’s response to Kremlin demands that European buyers pay Gazprom (MCX:) for their gas in rubles in future.

2. European Business Confidence Sinks As War Takes Its Toll. VW Postpones New EV Launch 

European economic data is beginning to reflect the impact of the conflict in Ukraine.

German business confidence cratered in March, the Ifo Business Climate index falling to a 14-month low of 90.8, while February’s index was also revised lower. Italy’s business confidence and consumer confidence indices also fell steeply.  Volkswagen (DE:), at the company level, stated it would need to postpone the ID.5 car’s launch for a month due a shortage in components from Ukraine.

The U.K.’s core retail sales dropped by 0.7% in February, despite expectations of a 0.5% increase. In response to the sterling falling 0.1% to $1.3171, the euro edged up at $1.1006 at 6:15 AM ET (1015 GMT) thanks to the announcement of the U.S. gas deal.

3. Stocks to open in mixed, Michigan Consumer Sentiment and Williams’ speech eyes

Stock markets in the United States are expected to open slightly later but will finish the week at their highest levels since February 1. They have completely erased losses from the invasion of Ukraine, and are now preparing for a faster rise in interest rates.

At 6:15 am ET, they had risen 14 points (or less than 0.1%) while the NASDAQ 100 futures rose by a similar amount but were steadily lower.

A comparison of the impact of war on both the European and American economies will be made by the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, which is due to release at 10:00 ET. The February Pending Home Sales data and a New York Federal Reserve speech are both due simultaneously.

Big Tech platforms and stocks are likely to come under scrutiny later. This is after the EU released new legislation that aims at limiting their market power. Apple, in particular will be the center of attention following a Bloomberg report that said Apple was considering subscription plans for its hardware.

4. Chelsea will be dominated by the Dodgers and the 76ers

According to several reports, the battle to purchase Chelsea’s soccer club in London came down to a showdown between Philadelphia 76ers owners and the LA Dodgers.

The two preferred bids, according to the Financial Times are from an investor group led by Dodgers owner Todd Boehly, and another led by Apollo’s Josh Harris and Blackstone (NYSE:) Group’s David Blitzer, whose portfolio of sports teams already includes the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and minority stakes in soccer clubs in Germany and the Benelux countries.

Since 2003, Chelsea has been the property of Roman Abramovich (Russian oligarch). His money transformed Chelsea from a second-rate club into the European and World champions. Various reports put the club’s value at around $4 billion. Abramovich’s assets have now been frozen by the U.K. government, making his ownership of the club untenable.  

5. China Covid worries, oil slips as a result of a gas deal

Crude oil prices slipped as the EU-U.S. gas deal encouraged optimism about ironing out the disruptions to world energy markets more broadly stemming from the West’s sanctions on Russia. Prices fell due to growing concerns about the effects of Covid shut downs on Chinese demand. There are also reports that China’s independent refiners have experienced their lowest utilization rates for months.

It is possible that there will be some pressure from European buyers to purchase more supplies. German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck said earlier that Europe’s largest economy will halve its imports of Russian oil by the summer, and be almost independent of Russian gas by 2024.

Prices were at $110.63 per barrel at 6:40 ET. They had fallen 1.5% by 11.777 at the same time.