(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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 […]
Read More(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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