The main events by the morning: May 16

• The European Union is considering the possibility of imposing a full trade embargo against Russia as part of the following sanctions packages. This issue will be discussed by European officials in Albania. A full embargo will be just one of many proposals for new restrictions. Duties on Russian goods are becoming a new trend, and European countries are planning to impose significant protective duties, which may actually amount to an embargo.

• Russia's oil export revenues have reached their lowest level since the beginning of 2023. According to the IEA, last month the country earned $13.2 billion from the sale of crude oil and petroleum products. This decrease occurred against the background of a drop in the average price of Russian oil, which amounted to $55.6 per barrel. The increased trade uncertainty caused by Trump's tariff wars is expected to continue to put pressure on the global economy and, consequently, on oil demand.

• Trump has signed agreements to attract $2.5 trillion in investments from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the US economy. This amount has become a record among all presidents. According to the agreements, the countries of the Middle East will invest this money for ten years.

• The tax burden on businesses in Russia has decreased. According to the Federal Tax Service, by the end of 2024, the ratio of tax payments to the turnover of organizations decreased by 0.4 percentage points and amounted to 11.6%, excluding insurance premiums.

• The average overpayment on mortgage loans in Russia has reached 10 million rubles. As of April 1 of this year, the average mortgage loan amount increased to a record 4.4 million rubles, according to statistics from the Central Bank. According to calculations by Freedom Finance Global, when applying for a mortgage of 4.4 million rubles for a period of 26 years at 30%, the total cost of the loan will be 14.6 million rubles.