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Fitch, Moody's slash Russia's sovereign rating to junk
Reuters ^

Posted on 03/02/2022 7:22:48 PM PST by TigerClaws

March 3 (Reuters) - Fitch and Moody's on Wednesday each downgraded Russia's sovereign credit rating by six notches to "junk" status, saying Western sanctions threw into doubt Russia's ability to service its debt and would weaken its economy.

Russia's financial markets have been thrown into turmoil by sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. read more The invasion has triggered a flurry of credit rating moves and dire warnings about the impact on Russia's economy. S&P lowered Russia's rating to junk status last week.

It also prompted index providers FTSE Russell and MSCI to announce Wednesday that they will remove Russian equities from all their indexes, after a top MSCI executive earlier this week called Russia's stock market "uninvestable". read more

FTSE Russell said the decision will be effective from March 7, while MSCI said its decision will be implemented in one step across all MSCI indexes as of the close on March 9. MSCI said it is also reclassifying MSCI Russia Indexes from emerging markets to standalone markets status.

Russia (.MIRU00000PUS) has a weighting of 3.24% in MSCI's emerging market benchmark (.MSCIEF) and a weighting of around 30 basis points in the index provider's global benchmark (.MIWD00000PUS).

The Institute of International Finance predicts a double-digit contraction in economic growth this year. read more

Fitch downgraded Russia to "B" from "BBB" and placed the country's ratings on "rating watch negative". Moody's, which last week had flagged the possibility of a downgrade, also cut the country's rating by six notches, to B3 from Baa3.

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
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1 posted on 03/02/2022 7:22:48 PM PST by TigerClaws
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To: TigerClaws

Might be a good time to Buy Russian Bonds, they may just pay off in the long run.


2 posted on 03/02/2022 7:25:37 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood
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To: Captain Peter Blood
Might be a good time to Buy Russian Bonds, they may just pay off in the long run.

Russia's foreign debt is tiny, especially compared to Western countries. With oil at $115, their debt is a pittance. Zero risk in that regard. The only question is - would sanctions allow them to pay it even if they wanted to?

3 posted on 03/02/2022 7:30:01 PM PST by PGR88
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To: TigerClaws

It doesn’t matter what the world THINKS of Russia. Russia has a huge stockpile of what the world wants and needs - oil and natural gas.

That the USA keeps buying crude oil from Russia and paying for it makes America’s political grandstanding look unserious and hypocritical.

If America thinks Putin is Hitler, why is America continuing to buy his oil?


4 posted on 03/02/2022 7:45:23 PM PST by Gnome1949
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To: TigerClaws

How come China’s credit isn’t downgraded to junky ex-wife status? It’s been almost a century since they made a payment on the treasuries Americans bought to help with China’s railroad project. China owes them (their heirs, really, since the original American debt buyers are now long gone) over $1.5 treelyun.


5 posted on 03/02/2022 8:00:45 PM PST by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Captain Peter Blood

“Might be a good time to Buy Russian Bonds, they may just pay off in the long run.”

NOT a good investment if they pay off in rubles, which are rapidly becoming worthless ...


6 posted on 03/02/2022 8:40:49 PM PST by catnipman (Cat Nipman: In a post-covid world, ALL "science" is now political science ...)
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To: TigerClaws

Junk. You mean like those Mortgage Bonds that Fitch and Moody’s said were AAA?


7 posted on 03/02/2022 10:50:59 PM PST by bakeneko
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To: TigerClaws

Rd later.


8 posted on 03/03/2022 3:04:44 AM PST by NetAddicted ( Just looking)
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To: catnipman

Good time to go long the Rouble


9 posted on 03/03/2022 6:40:48 AM PST by Captain Peter Blood
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