Posted on 04/13/2015 5:17:58 PM PDT by yuffy
Six months ago, the price of oilthe lifeblood of the Russian economybegan to crater, and U.S.-led sanctions, implemented in the wake of Russias annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, were biting. Russias currency, the ruble, buckled, and capital flight began to accelerate as rich but nervous Russians moved more and more money out of the country. It seemed plausible then to wonder: Could Vladimir Putin be losing his grip? Might economic pressure be enough to rein him in, or even lead to his downfall?
Today, the answer is becoming clearand its not the one the West was hoping for. Not only is Putin still standing, but the Russian economy, against most expectations, is recovering. Its stock market is one of the best performing globally this year; the ruble, after losing nearly half its value against the dollar over the course of a year, is rebounding; interest rates have come down from their post-sanctions peak; the government is taking in more revenue than its own forecast expected; and foreign exchange reserves have risen nearly $10 billion from their post-crisis low.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Another Obama/Clinton foreign affairs “success”.
Because they're the ones who crashed oil as an act of economic warfare.
Don't bother flaming. Just put on your thinking cap.
Do the Russians have enough capacity to do that alone?
I’ve not seen that thesis anywhere else.
I've posted the thesis here a number of times. I think we've even argued about it.
Selling weapons of war have always been good for a countries economy, one of the biggest reasons America has gone to war in the past.
They’re selling us treasuries and buying physical gold as well.
/ibtntf
Third now, U.S. is number one.
It has been said that a smart learns from his heart attack, while a wise man learns from his friend's heart attack. Russia apparently learned quickly from its Soviet collapse, while we are still hellbent on the course that led the Russians to ruin. Unless we reverse our course very soon, Cloward-Piven is about to hit warp speed.
That is our ace card, and we've elected a Marxist who refuses to let us play it. Oil and natural gas are our God-given way out of this mess - if we fully exploit them and stop borrowing ourselves into oblivion.
Things aren’t as fairy here as this article states but there is some truth to it.
There were some unintended consequences of economic sanctions which were hinted by thinking people before it has all started.
First of all, a willing repatriation of Russian elites who don’t feel safe with their billions invested in the West anymore, fearing freezing and confiscation of assets by foreign governments. They are coming back right now and Russian stock market is a clear indicator.
Another is devalued currency which is a great opportunity for local manufacturers of all spectre of products to replace import. It is happening right now as well.
Another thing is Russian economy is not actually a one trick pony it is portrayed to be. There is a huge manufacturing block which is now producing at the rate of about 80% it was in 1990 when Russia was still part of USSR.
You may think it is not a big deal but the structure of manufacturing is indeed different now. It doesn’t include a billion shoes which does not fit, or three thousand tanks and thousand fighter jets and a hundred thousands unnecessary agricultural tractors annually.
It is all marketable goods which sells and brings profit.
‘Our greatest weakness as Americans is a crushing debt that we can never repay - and we’re still borrowing ourselves deeper into the hole. This cannot go on forever.’
It actually can go on forever while dollar is an still a reserve currency.
One reason for this: that gigantic “New Silk Road” deal with China to ship (initially) natural gas, then eventually crude oil from eastern Siberia to China. That’s something the Chinese want, since it means no more depending on the Middle East for oil imports.
The sanctions were only for show anyway; the thing that did damage to Russia was lower oil prices.
Obama needed Russia for his Iran deal, and the sanctions were done in a cosmetic way to make sure that Obama would get Russia’s support in an Iran deal.
Now, that does not bode well for Ukraine, as it appears that they will be left holding an empty bag and that the russians will eat them alive. The EU and IMF can’t afford to bail out Ukraine and Greece at the same time.
....”Russia’s resilience against sanctions have been its sizable reserves and its lack of debt. Our greatest weakness as Americans is a crushing debt that we can never repay - and we’re still borrowing ourselves deeper into the hole. This cannot go on forever”.....
The administration knew Russia could weather this for those reasons, which were not unknown to them when they planned sanctions. It was more to make the key players in Russia “suffer” enough, and those making money in Russia to rebel by hitting their purses....which hasn’t worked either for those in the know saw it coming.
Did they "crash" the price of oil by waving their magic wand?
Which country has increased the world oil supply, faster than demand rose?
There is no such thing as forever on this earth, but you make the point that I've been making about the dollar. Our desperate dependence upon the Petrodollar's continued status as the world's reserve currency has reduced the sole aim of our foreign policy to smacking down any rival currencies. Any new reserve currency will require peace and stability on its home turf, which is why the United States is actively sowing revolution and chaos around world. The end of the Petrodollar would leave the USD as a massively overprinted currency - a bubble of historic proportions. Peace is now our enemy, and chaos is now our friend.
Which countries recently crashed their currencies?
I know, you don't know what the significance of that is, but you may wish to flame softly for your own image because it has significance.
Waiting for the Q1 2015 GDP numbers, until then, we can only speculate. World Bank April report doesn't have it as rosy as this article.
And that effects the price of oil in the US and globally?
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