UK suspends military cooperation with Russia after Putin signs Crimea treaty March 18, 2014 Foreign secretary William Hague has said Britain has suspended bilateral military cooperation with Russia, including arms exports, in a move responding to Russia’s annexing of Crimea. President Putin has formally signed a treaty to accept the “Republic of Crimea” into the Russian Federation, saying he does not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. He [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 18, 2014 US markets are expected to open lower today. European counterparts have headed higher, but investors will be looking towards comment from Fed chair Janet Yellen tomorrow, as the bank puts forward its latest monetary policy decision. It’s expected to continue with its tapering programme. There are also have the latest inflation figures to digest. US [...]
Crimea’s dented investor confidence, but the price of gas suggests there’s no need to worry March 18, 2014 This morning, Germany's ZEW survey demonstrated how investor sentiment can take a knock over international environment worries. The country’s ZEW survey falling for a second month in a row to 46.6 in March, from February’s 55.7. But ZEW officials have said that ongoing problems in Crimea have played a part in the drop, which could [...]
What you need to know before the open March 18, 2014 Markets remained resilient yesterday, in the face of sanctions being meted out by the EU on Russian and Ukrainian individuals. Today, expectations are that they’ll hold their nerve again, opening slightly higher, ahead of President Putin’s decision to the Russian parliament on whether to annex Crimea to Russia. Asian markets rallied in Tuesday trading – [...]
Asian markets rally as investors shrug off sanctions March 18, 2014 Asian markets are rising as tensions in the Crimea cooled and investors failed to be significantly deterred by the limited US and EU sanctions imposed on Russia. The EU and the US imposed asset freezes and visa restrictions for a small number of Russian officials. However, markets will be keeping a close watch on the [...]
Putin signs Crimea over to Russia as the EU and US issue sanctions March 17, 2014 PRESIDENT Putin has signed Crimea over to Russia and announced it is now a sovereign state, according to the Kremlin. The Russian president is understood to have signed a decree last night recognising the Ukrainian territory as part of Russia, following a widely-disputed vote in Crimea on Sunday. The news comes as President Obama and [...]
Letters to the Editor – 18/03 – No clothes Cameron, Best of Twitter March 17, 2014 No clothes Cameron [Re: Cameron sets out his agenda for EU reform, yesterday] David Cameron’s EU plan will be a stillbirth, if it ever reaches the delivery room. Powers cannot flow away from a German-driven, Frenchbacked, ever closer union, which suits weaker member states. Qualified majority voting is increasingly the norm, and there is little [...]
Putin’s calculations make Ukraine escalation all too likely March 17, 2014 GETTING inside the thinking of Vladimir Putin is a daunting prospect at the best of times; and these aren’t the best of times. Yet doing so shows why a worst-case outcome just a few days ago suddenly seems entirely plausible. After the Crimean referendum, the thoughts ringing around Putin’s head go something like this: “I [...]
What you need to know before the US open March 17, 2014 As investors wait to see how US and EU powers continue to respond to the referendum in Crimea yesterday, S&P 500 stocks futures suggest US markets will open slightly higher today. European markets have extended the early gains they made today, keeping their nerve, despite rising tensions over the Ukrainian crisis and weak EU inflation [...]
Russian gold glitters in face of Ukraine conflict March 17, 2014 The geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine are boosting the gold price and benefitting Russian miners, according to Canaccord Genuity today. The broker has upgraded its recommendations on Russian gold producers Polymetal International and Petropavlovsk to “buy”, as a result of its bullish view on the yellow metal and a weaker currency, [...]