Cameron: talk to Ukraine or face sanctions March 10, 2014 PRIME Minister David Cameron has warned of economic sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin does not agree to meet with Ukrainian government officials in the next few days. The message comes as UK and EU officials begin drafting a plan to freeze the assets of Russian citizens, in a bid to encourage the Kremlin [...]
CNBC Comment: How to invest amid fresh market highs March 10, 2014 IF THERE’S a full-blown war, we sell. If there’s a semi-war or ongoing tensions, we keep buying.” Most of the discussions I’m currently having with my guests sound a lot like this. While war is no good for anyone, fears about Ukraine and Russia are perceived by most investors as isolated, and many simply aren’t [...]
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. [...]
New York Report: Bullish market backed by US jobs rebound March 10, 2014 STRONGER-than-expected payrolls figures on Friday did more than ease concerns about US economic fundamentals – they also seemed to justify Wall Street’s record levels, suggesting the market’s uptrend could continue. February’s jobs report followed two straight months of payrolls reports that were sharply below expectations, and the rebound reinforced the theory that weakness in December [...]
This week’s 4 must-see charts March 7, 2014 The Fed’s use of the word “weather”, vulnerable high street profits, gold’s revival, and the economic effects of the Ukraine crisis. We bring you some of our favourite analysts’ picks of the most important graphs this week. David Lebovitz, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management: There has been a lot of discussion of [...]
Ukraine PM says there will be no recognition of Crimean referendum March 7, 2014 The Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has told CNBC that there will be no international recognition of the referendum aking the people of Crimea if they wish to join the Russian Federation. Yatsenyuk said: No-one will recognise this referendum, apart from maybe North Korea, Syria and Israel. I want to be very clear – Crimea [...]
What you need to know before the open March 7, 2014 A mixed open for Europe this morning as investors await the US employment report. Consensus is that US hiring increased enough in February to leave the Fed’s tapering plan on track. The S&P 500 saw a record finish again yesterday as weekly jobless claims dropped to a three-month low. The ECB disappointed yesterday, leaving its [...]
City & Gild: How Russia presented my consultancy with a brand dilemma March 7, 2014 Talk about timing: a couple of months ago our brand consultancy was approached to work with Moscow on rebranding Russia to make it more attractive to business. It’s been done before. In the late 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev dramatically rebranded the Soviet Union, and Russia as its core member, from closed to open, building a nation [...]
Russians hit by US travel ban over Ukraine March 6, 2014 RUSSIAN officials accused of orchestrating the invasion of Ukraine face a US travel ban, are set to have their assets frozen and will be stopped from doing business with American firms, under an order signed by President Obama yesterday. The EU froze ousted President Viktor Yanukovych’s assets in Europe, as well as targeting 18 people [...]