The Demolition of Russia's Economy

We have plenty to worry about.

So does Putin.
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We will see then and this isn’t exactly a static situation either. I do disagree with you. I think the Russians can hold on for some time with what they have but their well for much of their imports is capped and their ability to move in the global market is severely limited. Their exports are pretty well stuck in local currencies, ie rupees to rubles.

As I said in some earlier posts, the Russians can look to some one to one trade like with India and China for some food stuffs, medical goods and even low quality tech but there’s not too much other than that outside of the dollar/euro market. The Russians need to get dollars and euros moving in and out to stabilize their currency before they can take controls off. Otherwise they will end up piles of rupees and very little to spend it on.

Ruble essentially close to where it was before the war started.
 
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Yeh, becoming a world pariah is actually a great economic development plan. Or at least Vlad better hope so. I mean, what could go wrong?

.........but..but... we can pay in rubles and throw in some Buffalo Nickles from Vlad's coin collection.

Russia will likely default with April 4 payment due of $2.2 billion, experts say

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/r...-experts-say-01648317115?mod=economy-politics


The default is likely because we won't allow them access to the accounts for the coupon payments. I believe the US is trying to make them use their US dollar reserves up.

But I'm reminded of the old saying "if you owe the bank $100, that's your problem. If you owe the bank a million dollars (or 2.2B) that's the bank's problem."
 
The default is likely because we won't allow them access to the accounts for the coupon payments. I believe the US is trying to make them use their US dollar reserves up.

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Oh indeed. The US is actively trying to get them into default. Of course the EU is trying too via sanctions.

No attempt to hide it.
 
Oh indeed. The US is actively trying to get them into default. Of course the EU is trying too via sanctions.

No attempt to hide it.

It would go much easier and faster if Europe just stopped buying energy.

But I still maintain that a default won't hurt Russia anywhere near as much as it hurts those who lent them the money.
 
It would go much easier and faster if Europe just stopped buying energy.

But I still maintain that a default won't hurt Russia anywhere near as much as it hurts those who lent them the money.

Wait. What are you saying here, that Russia doesn’t need access to capital markets or that capital markets will ignore default?
 
It would go much easier and faster if Europe just stopped buying energy.

But I still maintain that a default won't hurt Russia anywhere near as much as it hurts those who lent them the money.

Well, that is true of the stop buying energy approach too. Probably hurt some in the west more than Putin.

I am somewhat of a moderate on the sanctioning scenario. I am not one who believes that you are going to just turn Russia into a roadkill. They have lots of hidden financial reserves and full team of chinese buddies and the like that will keep them from going down for the eight count. And the default thing is actually on a continuum. It is not either/or. They can default but still do workarounds and put packages together to satisfy the current creditors so that they do not get hurt that bad and Russia can argue that they did not outright stiff them. But it kills their creditworthiness and business climate.

But I do believe that all of the sanctions and treating them as a pariah will keep their economy functioning but at a lower level. And with brain drain etc it takes a toll longer term. So, again, I am not a believer that anyone will end out with the satisfaction of seeing them turned into a roadkill- but Vlad wants to go back to the Soviet Union and I do believe he will get a chance to go back to the Soviet level economy. Hope that works out for him and the Russian people. He is already babbling on about how capitalism is not the way to go long term, and about seizing any property of companies, and how central planning to mee the needs of the people is groovy. Deja vu all over again.
 
Wait. What are you saying here, that Russia doesn’t need access to capital markets or that capital markets will ignore default?

Capital markets won't ignore a default, but they won't starve Russia for the rest of its existance, either. Especially if they know the default was engineered and had nothing to do with the outright economic health of the country in question.

How many times has Argentina defaulted, again? Why do creditors rush back to lending to them?

Similarly, creditors will leap as soon as the war is over no matter what Russia defaulted on because of a non-access to funds locked away. Because they know Russia has raw materials and energy, and they can make a buck off it.
 
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