Free Republic

Canada’s dollar and Mexico’s peso took a hit Saturday, with Canada’s dollar sliding to its lowest level since 2003, one day after President Trump imposed tariffs on the two nations. The Canadian dollar dropped 1.4% to roughly C$1.47 against one U.S. dollar. BREAKING: Canadian dollar plummets to the lowest level against U.S. dollar since 2003: pic.twitter.com/3DSc30FlKu — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 2, 2025 The Mexican peso also fell more than 2% to 21.15 against one dollar U.S., Financial Times reports. Chief economist at Mexico’s Banco Base, Gabriela Siller, says, “If the tariff stays on for several months, the [peso’s] exchange...

he arrests and firing of several high-profile associates of former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu by Kremlin authorities have sparked deep anxieties among members of the Russian elite connected to the current head of Moscow's Security Council, according to a new report. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email. WHY IT MATTERS A slew of well-known figures working in the Russian government and the military were arrested and axed from their posts last year. Western analysts have noted that schisms within the Kremlin's upper echelons are increasingly catching international attention as the grinding war...

Kyiv has finally turned off Russia’s gas supply to Europe, ending a source of income that helped pay for Moscow’s war against Ukraine. The decades-old deal, which allowed the transit of natural gas produced by Russian energy giant Gazprom through Ukraine, ended at midnight on December 31, shutting down Russia’s last major gas corridor to Europe. Europe’s dependence on Russian energy had already drastically reduced since the invasion in February 2022, so the gesture is mostly symbolic. But it doesn’t make the decision less important or mean there are no consequences for the remaining Gazprom customers in Europe.

Russia is facing a critical challenge to its war effort in 2025: The nation is quickly running out of cash, with financial reserves potentially running out before the end of the year, according to estimates from one European economist. Anders Åslund, a Swedish economist and a former fellow at the Atlantic Council, thinks liquid reserves in Russia's National Wealth Fund could potentially be depleted by the fall of this year. That spells trouble for the nation's military efforts in 2025, he said, given how heavily Russia has relied on its wealth fund over the last several years. Liquid reserves in...