Ukraine: The biggest crisis in Europe this century says Hague March 3, 2014 Foreign secretary William Hague has called the current situation in Ukraine “the biggest crisis in Europe in the 21st century” this morning. Hague confirmed Russia’s taken operational control of Crimea, and that he’s “very concerned” about the possibility of movement by Russia further into eastern Ukraine. There is "no justification" for Russia's actions, he said. [...]
Russia’s stock market is crashing as central bank sells $10bn in FX reserves March 3, 2014 Russia’s MICEX stock exchange is plunging on the growing crisis in Ukraine. It’s currently down almost 10 per cent at 1,304, with stocks heading towards their biggest slump since 2009. The rouble has also slid sharply. One dollar is currently worth 36.39 roubles. Mechel – one of Russia’s leading mining companies – plummeted 31 per [...]
Markets are spooked: FTSE 100 falls to two-week low March 3, 2014 The FTSE 100 share index fell 108 points at the open, now down 1.1 per cent at 6,733. Cyclical shares have taken the biggest hit, as investors lose their appetite for risk, in the face of the escalating crisis in Ukraine. Other European markets are also in the red. The German DAX fell 1.8 per [...]
What you need to know before the open March 3, 2014 European stock futures have been falling as the tensions in Ukraine continue to rise. The rouble is currently at an all-time low, and Russia’s central bank has announced it’s hiking its benchmark interest rate from 5.5 per cent to seven per cent. All European markets are expected to fall sharply at the open, after Ukraine [...]
Russia hikes key interest rate to 7pc March 3, 2014 Russia’s central bank has said it’s upping its benchmark interest rate by 1.5 percentage points to seven per cent, as the rouble drops to a record low this morning to 36.90 per dollar. The move is in response to increased levels of volatility in financial markets, the bank said, and comes into immediate effect. "The [...]
Asian shares tumble amid Ukraine crisis March 3, 2014 Asian shares are taking a hit in the wake of the deteriorating situation in Ukraine, with Russian troops surrounded a number of Ukrainian military bases last night. The US Secretary of State John Kerry warned yesterday that Russia could be expelled from the G8 unless President Vladimir Putin puts an end to his “incredible act [...]
Ukraine: The brink of war March 3, 2014 ■ Cameron and Obama warn Russia to change course or face significant costs ■ Nato says Putin has broken the UN charter and threatens peace in Europe THE US Secretary of State John Kerry will fly to Kiev tomorrow, as Russia faces off against the West over its interests in Ukraine. David Cameron has vowed [...]
Will Britain be called on to defend the Ukraine? March 3, 2014 ACCORDING to a treaty signed in 1994 by the UK, America and Russia, Britain is legally bound to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The Budapest Memorandum centred around unrest in Crimea, which was under Russian control until 1954, and formed part of a nuclear disarmament deal that saw Ukraine destroy all of its Soviet-era [...]
Russia’s Ukraine attack is end of Pax Americana March 3, 2014 THIS is the week Western foreign policy was finally exposed as a sham. Russia has started to invade Ukraine, an independent nation supposedly backed by the West, in what could be the most significant geopolitical crisis since 9/11, and what is anybody going to do about it? Nothing. Pax Americana had been on its death [...]
Crimea: Home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet March 3, 2014 PRESIDENT Putin has ordered Russian troops into the Crimea area of Ukraine, citing the need to protect his citizens living there. But Crimea is strategically important to Putin as a military base for the Black Sea Fleet, and concerns have been raised that the President could use troops on the ground to move into Ukraine [...]