Thursday, March 20, 2014

This is the best Russia can do, huh?

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has published a reciprocal sanctions list of US citizens, consisting of 10 names, including: Senator J. McCain; senior adviser to President Obama, D. Pfeiffer; and leading adviser on international economics, C. Atkinson.

The move comes in response to US sanctions imposed against Russian officials after the March-16 referendum in Crimea, which Washington considered “illegitimate.” 

On Thursday US President Barack Obama announced a new executive order imposing further on key sectors of the Russian economy and top Russian officials and businessmen. The measures will impact Russian energy, mining, defense and engineering sectors. 

Sticks and stone can break my bones, but, throwing Russian money around will never hurt me.

I told you so, Vladimir. Ho, hum.

The ruble (click here) had another wild ride today, giving up most of yesterday’s gains in the morning and then jumping sharply in the afternoon on Russian president Vladimir Putin’s defiant speech to parliament. For what it’s worth, in his speech today Putin pledged that Russia would not annex any other parts of Ukraine, around which time the ruble began to rise:... 

(Russian) Stocks fell (click here) for a second day on concern sanctions provoked by Russia’s annexation of Crimea will hurt the economy and as Federal Reserve stimulus cuts damped appetite for riskier securities. The ruble was little changed....