Forbes: ‘The Invasion of Crimea Is Crushing Russia’s Stock and Currency Markets’
Here come some of the “costs” to Russia for violating the sovereignty of Ukraine, as of Monday morning:
1) The Russian benchmark stock index, the MICES, is down 10% or more (it has been down as much as 11.2% earlier today), the biggest drop in at least five years (depending on the close).
2) The Russian ruble reached all time lows against the euro and the dollar. To prop it up the Russian central bank—on a “temporary” basis—raised interest rates 1.5%, from 5.5 to 7.0%, and spent $10 billion toward the same end. This will significantly hamper growth in Russia unless they lower those rates fast.
3) Shares of the corporation Gazprom, the Russian Federation’s gas monopoly, are also down 10%.
4) The yield the Russian government has to pay on its state bonds is near a record high.
5) Foreign capital reserves for Russia are at a multi-year low.
The Ukrainian currency and its markets, along with stocks in its neighbors Poland and Hungary, are down sharply as well, but of course the West can help out at a relatively small cost, given the size of their economies. No one is coming to the financial rescue of Russia here. For what it’s worth, global financial experts (it is hard to write those words with a straight face) are confident that they do not see the “contagion” spreading to worldwide financial markets, which are down 1-2 percent so far today.
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More: Forbes: ‘The Invasion of Crimea Is Crushing Russia’s Stock and Currency Markets’