(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) — 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) — 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 […]
Read More(Bloomberg) —Russia’s central bank has been relegated to the role of bit-part player as war and international sanctions devastate the country’s economy. A meeting in Moscow on Friday will be little more than a cameo for the Bank of Russia in an economic drama playing out across the world’s biggest country, as the wipeout of […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — The invasion of Ukraine is causing a mass exodus of companies from Russia, reversing three decades of investment by Western and other foreign businesses there following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The list of those cutting ties or reviewing their operations is growing by the hour as foreign governments ratchet […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Russia’s central bank has banned brokers from selling securities by non-residents starting today in a bid to shield the nation’s assets from sweeping Western sanctions that include penalties on the Bank of Russia. In addition to the temporary freeze on sales on the Moscow Exchange, the central bank said the currency and repo […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Banks are taking precedence for President Vladimir Putin as Russia devises a domestic response to sanctions rolled out by western governments over the invasion of Ukraine. Russian state aid will initially focus on assisting lenders hit with penalties, according to two people who attended a closed meeting with Putin to address the impact […]
Read More(Bloomberg) — Russia’s rout on Thursday is the fifth-worst plunge in equity market history in local currency terms as investors sold the nation’s assets following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. The benchmark MOEX Russia Index closed 33% lower in Moscow, erasing $189 billion in shareholder wealth, as Western leaders vowed to step up penalties on […]
Read MoreLet’s imagine that a few years ago in early 2014 that Vladimir Putin had tossed a coin in a wishing well and asked for a more supportive market for Russian oil and gas, their chief source of foreign currency. A mere seven years ago, after the Russian invasion and takeover of Crimea, the country was […]
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