Russia

Global Economy
Oil
Russia

Germany Risks a Cascade of Utility Failures, Economy Chief Says

(Bloomberg) — Germany should prepare for deeper cuts in Russian gas supplies because President Vladimir Putin is pursuing a conscious strategy of driving up prices to undermine European unity, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said. “We aren’t dealing with erratic decisions but with economic warfare, completely rational and very clear,” Habeck, the deputy chancellor in Olaf […]

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Commodities
Commodity Prices
Inflation
Russia
War

Commodities Hit July Storm With Putin and Powell Stirring Fear

(Bloomberg) — Commodities are careering into a second half that promises as much turmoil as the first, with the world facing an escalating energy crisis, copper plunging on Fed-fueled recession fears, and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivering a shock for Shell Plc. Russia’s move to reshuffle ownership of the Sakhalin-2 gas plant spells trouble for […]

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Russia
Russian Economy
Ukraine

How the World Is Paying for Putin's War in Ukraine

(Bloomberg) — In early March, as the US and its allies unleashed a wave of sanctions on Russia, President Joe Biden stood in the White House and said they wanted to deal a “powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.” But as the war in Ukraine approaches its 100th day, that machine is still very much […]

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Big Oil
Crude Oil
Oil
Oil and Gas Pipelines
Russia

Rare Ship-to-Ship Transfers Keep Oil Moving From Russia to China

(Bloomberg) — A logistically risky and costly transfer of crude between tankers at sea highlights the steps at least one Chinese buyer is willing to take to ensure the smooth flow of oil from eastern Russia to Asia. Buyers are using creative ways to maintain flows as more shipowners shun Russian oil due to the […]

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Debt Default
Russia
Russian Economy

US Set to Block Russian Debt Payments, Raising Odds of Default

(Bloomberg) — The Biden administration is poised to fully block Russia’s ability to pay US bondholders after a deadline expires next week, a move that could bring Moscow closer to the brink of default. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is expected to let a temporary exemption lapse once it expires on May […]

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Russia
Russian Economy
U.S. Dollar

Putin Sends Russians on Wild Hunt for Dollars in Black Market

(Bloomberg) — As the ruble’s official exchange rate parts ways with its value on the street, dollars are becoming hard to find. For Boris, a doctor based in Moscow, the search got so desperate that he pondered a high-tech, and seemingly improbable, black-market scheme that a friend was pushing. After interacting with a bot via […]

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Bond Default
Debt Default
Russia
Russian Economy

Russia’s First Default in a Century Looks All But Inevitable Now

(Bloomberg) –Russia’s first external default in a century now looks all but inevitable after another brutal week for the country’s finances. First, the Treasury halted dollar debt payments from Russia’s accounts in U.S. banks, ramping up its restrictions on the country. Then, when an attempted hard-currency payment was blocked, Russia breached the terms on two […]

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China
Coal
Russia
Ukraine

Russian Coal and Oil Paid for in Yuan to Start Flowing to China

(Bloomberg) — Russian coal and oil paid for in yuan is about to start flowing into China as the two countries try to maintain their energy trade in the face of growing international outrage over the invasion of Ukraine. Several Chinese firms used local currency to buy Russian coal in March, and the first cargoes […]

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Russia
Ukraine
War

A Hundred Firms Pull $45 Billion of Deals Since War in Ukraine

(Bloomberg) — At least a hundred companies worldwide have delayed or pulled financing deals worth more than $45 billion since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These include initial public offerings, bonds or loans and acquisitions. U.S. equity market deals were the worst hit by global volatility in the first quarter as a crop of firms postponed […]

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Gold
Gold Miners
Russia

Russia Seeks New Ways to Sell Its $20-Billion-a-Year Gold Output

(Bloomberg) — Russia’s huge gold industry is searching for new ways to sell its metal, such as exporting more to China and the Middle East, as sanctions choke off its traditional sales routes. The second-biggest bullion miner is finding European and U.S. markets largely closed because of a ban on newly produced Russian gold, and […]

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Crude Oil
Oil
Russia

Putin May Collect $321 Billion Windfall If Oil and Gas Keep Flowing

(Bloomberg) — Russia’s economy has staggered through the first full month of the war with Ukraine but it may yet emerge with a sparkling balance sheet if some of its biggest trade partners don’t turn off the tap on its exports of energy. For all the hardships visited on consumers at home and the financial […]

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Russia
Russian Economy
Ukraine

Ruble Edges Closer to Clawing Back All Its Post-Invasion Decline

(Bloomberg) — The ruble is staging a comeback that could soon see it making up all of the losses it suffered in the weeks after Russia invaded of Ukraine, although it has some way to go yet. The currency has strengthened in 13 of the past 14 trading sessions in Moscow, paring most of the […]

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Russia
Russian Economy

Debt Crisis Grips Russia’s Most-Loyal Ally as Dollar Bonds Dive

(Bloomberg) — With all the focus on the risk of default by Russia, an even more spectacular collapse has gone largely unnoticed right next door: There’s a bond crisis brewing in Belarus, which has the world’s worst-performing government debt this year. Notes from the key Russian ally, which shares Ukraine’s northern border, have slumped to […]

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Panic Selling
Russia
Russian Economy
Wall Street

Wall Street Is Scrambling For the Exits in Moscow — and Billions Are at Stake

(Bloomberg) — For decades, global finance firms eagerly catered to Russian firms, billionaires and the government. Then tanks started rolling into Ukraine. Citigroup Inc., which has thousands of staff and billions of dollars of assets in Russia, has said it will cut back much of its business in the country. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan […]

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Bond Default
Bond Market
Russia
Russian Economy

Inside Russia’s 96-Hour Cliffhanger to Sidestep Bond Default

(Bloomberg) — It was perhaps the most widely-tracked coupon payment in history. After the Russian Finance Ministry on Monday sent an order initiating a $117 million payment due on dollar-denominated bonds this week, traders and money managers globally watched with bated breath as the money began to snake its way through the financial system. What […]

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