EU puts new Russia sanctions on hold in hope ceasefire survives September 8, 2014 EUROPEAN leaders last night announced they had agreed new economic sanctions against Russia – but will not put them into force for the time being. Russia threatened to hit back, potentially by closing its airspace to EU airlines’ flights. Brussels’ aim is to punish Russia for its increasingly overt invasion of regions in the east [...]
Has the geopolitical crisis in Ukraine made Russia a no go zone for Western investors? September 7, 2014 Timothy Ash is head of emerging market research (excluding Africa) at Standard Bank, says Yes. As the West continues to shy away from Iran-style sanctions, which would ban secondary trading in debt and equity and thereby lock investors in positions, Russia is still technically investible. But it is a binary call on the country now [...]
Sport Comment: Lack of boxing on free-to-air TV leaves stars marginalised September 7, 2014 BRITAIN currently has four world boxing champions. Between now and a few paragraphs’ time, the challenge is to see whether you can name them. That number rose from three to four at the weekend when, in front of the biggest crowd in history for a bout in Northern Ireland, the latest Belfast Boy Carl Frampton [...]
Russia “will react” to EU sanctions, accuses Nato of supporting neo-Nazi forces September 6, 2014 Russia says "there will undoubtedly be a reaction" to any new sanctions imposed by the EU. The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that the EU's proposed sanctions were "practically sending a signal of direct support to the 'party of war' in Kiev". The new sanctions will target state-owned oil companies, including Rosneft, and add [...]
Russian rouble rallies as Putin agrees Ukraine ceasefire September 5, 2014 The rouble rose 0.22 per cent against the dollar and 0.14 per cent against the Euro at pixel time after Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko announced his government had reached a ceasefire agreement with pro-Russian rebels this afternoon. Earlier in the day, investors had piled into Russian stocks on rumours of an end to fighting, with [...]
Euro vs rouble: Currencies react to ECB stimulus measures September 5, 2014 Not content with falling against the dollar and the pound, the euro yesterday slid against the Russian rouble too. In fact, after the European Central Bank's (ECB) surprise stimulus measures, the euro fell against every currency listed in the ECB data store, except the Czech koruna and the Bulgarian lev. And it only rose against the [...]
European markets cautious as Nato summit begins September 4, 2014 European markets took a break from recent rallies as the leaders of Nato countries prepared to meet at the Celtic Manor resort in Wales this morning. Having hit its highest level in 14 years yesterday, the FTSE 100 rose a modest 0.1 per cent to 6,880 in early trading, while France's Cac fell 0.4 per [...]
Finally: France puts Russian warship delivery on hold September 4, 2014 The French government has halted the controversial delivery of a warship to Russia over the escalating tensions in Ukraine. President Hollande said conditions were “not right” to deliver the first of two warships to the Russian navy as part of a €1.2bn (£959m) contract. The French government had previously resisted calls from other countries to halt [...]
Ukraine can’t win in this crisis – but Putin can be made to pay for his victory September 3, 2014 IT IS a standard rule of thumb in global risk analysis that the side in a conflict calling for a ceasefire is the side that is losing. Until two weeks ago, President Putin of Russia – seeing his Kremlin-sponsored separatists on the run in the face of a rejuvenated Ukrainian army – was all for [...]
Armed men occupy offices of leading Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk September 3, 2014 "Armed men" have occupied the offices of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, according to a news story posted to the club's official website. The story claims that Shakhtar offices in Donetsk have been occupied and requests all official correspondence be redirected to an alternative address in the city. The club states that "circumstances of [...]