Forget sanctions: Putin has already traumatised fragile Russia March 10, 2014 AT FIRST sight, Vladimir Putin’s assertion of Russia’s power and influence in Crimea has been a neat operation with low costs. Moscow’s aggression can even look like a nice little earner. While the EU, US and IMF offer aid to Ukraine, Russia gets to keep the undisbursed $12bn (£7.2bn) of its $15bn soft loan to [...]
Hague warns of violent conflict if Putin advances March 10, 2014 FOREIGN secretary William Hague issued a stark message to Russia yesterday, warning there is a “great danger of a shooting conflict” if Putin moves troops out of Crimea and into mainland Ukraine. Hague reiterated the threat of UK sanctions against President Putin’s nation after armed personnel carriers were seen rolling into the country on Saturday. [...]
No action from Draghi despite lower inflation March 6, 2014 THE EURO strengthened against other major currencies yesterday, following the European Central Bank’s (ECB) decision not to ease monetary policy further, and official forecasts of low inflation for years to come. Some economists had suggested that the central bank might choose to cut rates, but ECB president Mario Draghi held his ground and announced no [...]
Obama: Putin is fooling nobody March 4, 2014 BARACK Obama issued a stark message to President Putin yesterday, warning that Russia’s attempts to legitimise military intervention in Crimea are fooling nobody. The US President all-but accused Putin of violating international law, while US secretary of state John Kerry reiterated the threat of economic sanctions against the country if Putin does not withdraw his [...]
3 things Putin probably hadn’t bargained for March 4, 2014 It seems Vladimir Putin, upon whom everyone’s been keeping more than half an eye, is backing off. Following the beating the Russian stock market and currency took yesterday, the Russian leader's been speaking at a news conference. He told reporters this morning that there’s no – current – need for military force in Ukraine, that [...]
Putin defends Gazprom price hikes on Ukraine March 4, 2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended a planned price rises for Ukraine by state-owned Russian energy giant Gazprom. Speaking to a press conference President Putin said: They failed to pay off the debt, I think it's $1.5bn as of today, and if they don't pay for February it's going to be $2bn. So if you [...]
Putin: Armed troops in Ukraine are last resort March 4, 2014 President Putin, who’s currently speaking at a news conference, has said there’s no need to send troops into Ukraine now, but that Russia still "has that option". Deploying armed forces is, he said, would only be done in an extreme case. "So the tense situation in Crimea related to the possibility of use of force [...]
Bottom Line: Kiev is the key to Putin’s power March 3, 2014 IT’S NOT just about the Crimea. Attention has naturally turned to Russia’s immediate strategic interest in Sevastopol. But the assumption that this marks the limit of Vladimir Putin’s ambition is a dangerous miscalculation. Putin’s trademark brand of Russian nationalism makes control of Kiev non-negotiable. Without it he is just another thug. But for deep cultural [...]
Crimea checkmate: Putin now has his Ukraine veto March 2, 2014 US SECRETARY of state John Kerry tends to reveal more than he ought to. In response to the Russian takeover of Crimea, he blustered, “you just don’t in the twenty-first century behave in a nineteenth-century fashion by invading another country,” as though the laws of human nature and geopolitics have been recently improved upon. In [...]
Asian markets fall as Yellen fails to inspire February 28, 2014 Asian markets are falling across the board as investors failed to be inspired by Janet Yellen's testimony to Congress on the strength of the US economy. There continues to be significant uncertainty over China's economic outlook. Volatility in the yuan has picked up as the People's Bank of China attempts to weaken the nation's currency. [...]