World press on the fall of the ruble (December 18, 2014)"Ruble Crisis Is Testing Russia’s Resources" reads the title of the article published by the New York Times. "The question is how far Russia’s resources will go", asks the article."The ruble remains volatile. With the Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, some Russian companies, which have large piles of debt, are running out of financing options. And not all of the country’s reserves can easily or quickly be used. Russia’s oil-dependent economy — oil and gas revenues make up about 50 percent of the budget and 60 percent of exports — also complicates the calculus", writes the New York Times.“Corporate defaults will happen,” the New York Times quotes Lubomir Mitov, chief economist for Europe at the Institute of International Finance. He said the thing to watch was not today or next quarter, but what happened if oil stayed at $50 or $60 a barrel. It is now around $60. “Then the wave of corporate defaults comes in the second half of next year and then it becomes worse over time,” he said.Commenting on the actions of the Russian Central Bank, notably, raising interest rates to 17 percent, from 10.5 percent, the article says: "But rather than reverse the downturn, the move accelerated the panic, as the market interpreted it as an act of desperation. The currency weakened substantially, with investors worrying that more extreme measures could follow, like capital controls".
"Ruble Crisis Is Testing Russia’s Resources" reads the title of the article published by the New York Times. "The question is how far Russia’s resources will go", asks the article.
"The ruble remains volatile. With the Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, some Russian companies, which have large piles of debt, are running out of financing options. And not all of the country’s reserves can easily or quickly be used. Russia’s oil-dependent economy — oil and gas revenues make up about 50 percent of the budget and 60 percent of exports — also complicates the calculus", writes the New York Times.
“Corporate defaults will happen,” the New York Times quotes Lubomir Mitov, chief economist for Europe at the Institute of International Finance. He said the thing to watch was not today or next quarter, but what happened if oil stayed at $50 or $60 a barrel. It is now around $60. “Then the wave of corporate defaults comes in the second half of next year and then it becomes worse over time,” he said.
Commenting on the actions of the Russian Central Bank, notably, raising interest rates to 17 percent, from 10.5 percent, the article says: "But rather than reverse the downturn, the move accelerated the panic, as the market interpreted it as an act of desperation. The currency weakened substantially, with investors worrying that more extreme measures could follow, like capital controls".
