Alfa Bank predicted the sharpest Central Bank rate cut in nine years, and metallurgists said about the risk of losses with high taxes and a strong ruble – these and other important news for Thursday morning, May 26, in our daily review.

The European Union for the first time named the amount of assets of the Russian Central Bank of Russia that were frozen due to sanctions – $24.5 billion. Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said at a press conference that EU members also seized assets of Russian businessmen worth about $10.7 billion, Reuters writes.

Tesla founder Ilon Musk increased the amount of his commitment to finance the Twitter deal to $33.5 billion, partially abandoning plans to raise bank loans tied to his stake in Tesla in favor of funding from investors, Bloomberg reports.

The Bank of Russia may lower the key rate from 14% immediately to 10% at an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors on May 26, according to a note by Natalia Orlova, chief economist at Alfa Bank, and Irina Rostovtseva, economist (Forbes has the document).

The U.S. Treasury Department issued General License No. 13A, which allows U.S. individuals and entities to pay taxes, fees and import duties in Russia despite the sanctions. The document is posted on the website of the Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

Steel production in Russia will fall and the industry will become unprofitable under the current tax regime and ruble exchange rate, metallurgists warn. The situation has been aggravated by problems with exports and a decline in domestic demand, RBC writes.