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Wow, from 10.5% to 17%. As much of an effect as the drop in crude is having in the US shale plays, it appears to be having a very significant effect on Russia.
The Ruble was just a little higher than 30RUB/USD at the beginning of this year!! The decline has been swift and the problem as I see it is that the larger population is being taken advantage of over and over again in Russia for as long as anyone has been alive there. Putin is just the most recent incarnation of evil for the Russian people. He brings to mind names like Ceausescu and Louis XVI and he probably deserves a similar fate.
The fight is lost. No one in Russia wants to keep Rubles and those who didn't get out before are doing so today. I thought the Central Bank might have been able to defend the currency for a few days, but apparently not. Russia is going to collapse upon itself and if Putin was wise he would get his troops out of Ukraine as fast as possible, give back Crimea and hope to get enough of a bounce out of the good news to keep things under control. The fact that he isn't suggests strongly he feels the need to keep digging when he's in a hole and that could be very dangerous for the rest of the world.
Apple halting online sales in Russia due to currency fluctuations. Discussions on CNBC this afternoon about people taking their Rubles out of the bank and buying up anything and everything (iPads, furniture, jewelry, etc) in order to buy stuff and get out of the currency.
Comments
I recall the ruple at 30/1USD in 2003; and this exchange rate hit 60 to 1 today.
And Gazprom gets a $485 million loan from Italy.
A desparete Russia isn't exactly a good thing
"A desparete Russia isn't exactly a good thing."
And with someone like Putin in charge who knows what is around the corner.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-16/russian-ruble-hereby-halted-until-further-notice